PHOTO BY JOHN FRYMAN / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
TRUSTEES MEETING … Bridgewater Township Fiscal Officer Nicki Cogswell (middle) goes over the July meeting minutes at its township trustees meeting held on Wednesday, Aug. 19.
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
The Bridgewater Township Trustees met in a regular session on Wednesday, Aug. 19 in the township building.
Trustees in attendance were Brandon Hinkle, Mike Elser and Austin Rummel. Also, Fiscal Officer Nicki Cogswell was present.
The minutes of the July 15 meeting were read and approved. Trustees also approved the payment of bills. Cogswell told trustees there was a check received from the Williams County Auditor for property taxes.
She had previously spoken with the state auditor and county auditor because the township wasn’t allowed to pay late fees.
“I always print off the property tax bills before our first meeting of the year and pay the whole year and not wait until it’s done because they don’t come in the mail in time for our meeting time, which I did back in January,” said Cogswell.
“This year they added special assessments on which we didn’t know they were going to add on.”
The end result, according to Cogswell, is the township is going to pay $11.24 in late fees to the county for property taxes because the mail doesn’t come before their meeting.
“The county auditor said it is legal to pay $11.24 in late fees as long as you (trustees) knew about it and approved the expense,” she said.
Cogswell requested a motion to approve the payment of $11.24 in late fees. Trustees approved the motion to pay the late fees to the county auditor.
It was pointed out that the second half taxes were late this year on Aug. 7. “We pay all of our taxes on time, but it was just the second assessment that came through, and they didn’t send the bill until the end of July, and they’re due on August 7,” Cogswell noted.
“We didn’t have a meeting either at the end of July or before August 7, but it was too late for us to pay on time.”
Elser said the taxes were sent out later this time, and it involved a computer issue. “When I take the check in tomorrow (August 20), I’m going to go over it with them just to verify that everything is okay,” Cogswell said.
“I talked with the county auditor today (August 19) and they said everything looked good. I just want to review it with them when I go tomorrow (August 20).”
Cogswell reported the state audit has been completed, and the state auditor’s office had asked if the trustees wanted to participate in an exit conference. Trustees then made a motion to not participate in the exit conference.
Elser reported a tree had recently fallen on County Road S between County Roads 12 and 11.50. Rummel took care of it with a backhoe to remove the tree.
Trustees will be driving around looking for trees to be trimmed in the township. Trustees discussed the chip and seal work which has yet to be done by Ward Construction of Leipsic.
This year’s work will involve County Road Q between County Roads 12 and 13 and County Road S just west of County Road 8, totaling two miles.
Trustees were informed that Ward Construction is planning to be in the county within two weeks and begin work on the east side of the township.
There is some spot paving work to be done on County Road 9. Steve Mohre of M&M Asphalt of Edon has been contacted for the project.
With the recent heavy rains, there have been some serious drainage issues, including the intersection of County Roads S and 9 and County Road S between County Roads 12 and 13.
With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m.
Story updated August 24, 2026 at 10:13 a.m.