By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Wood County voters have proved their love at the polls for libraries, parks and senior citizens.
Despite economic hardships, local residents showed their willingness to invest in three levies that support services in their communities.
Following are the unofficial vote tallies from the Wood County Board of Elections:
- Wood County District Public Library: Yes: 18,177 (73%); No: 6,628 (27%)
- Wood County Committee on Aging: Yes: 39,550 (73%); No: 14,568 (27%)
- Bowling Green Parks and Recreation: Yes: 6,228 (66%); No: 3,239 (34%)
Library levy
The Wood County District Public Library asked voters to renew the 0.8-mill library levy request for another six years. The levy will provide $1.2 million annually to help fund the library.
Library Director Michael Penrod said the last time the levy was renewed in 2020 was also during the Covid pandemic – also a difficult time.
“It appears the margin of victory is the same as in 2020,” he said.
People are hurting now, with the costs of fuel and food so high, Penrod said, but voters yet again supported funding for the Wood County District Public Library.
“They value what the library does,” he said. “It’s very humbling.”
The library, which counts on the levy for about 40% of its total tax revenues, is operating in a more financially uncertain environment than in recent years. Ohio’s Public Library Fund, which makes up the rest of the library’s taxpayer funding, has been converted from a percentage of revenue collected by the state to a line item in the state budget.
So passage of the local levy will lend some much needed certainty to the library budget, Penrod said.
“This gives us some stability,” he said.
The levy has allowed the library to maintain and expand services to better serve local residents as demands for services continue to increase. Since 2022, the library has seen more library visitors (+27%), more books borrowed (+19%), and more participation in library programs and events (+82%). In 2025, the library offered 1,140 programs and events with 36,667 people participating.
And the library will continue to use the funds wisely, Penrod added.
“We’re going to continue to give the community what it wants,” he said. “Lots of books, lots of storytimes, lots of good things.”
Senior levy
As the population of Wood County continues to go grayer, voters continue to show their support for seniors at the polls.
State statistics show that one quarter of Wood County’s residents are now 60 years or older. That represents a shift in the population profile, and a growing need for services that offer support for seniors so they can remain independent, healthy and connected.
To continue providing those services, the Wood County Committee on Aging asked voters to support a renewal levy of 1 mill, lasting five years.
“We’re super grateful the voters have so much confidence in us, and value our older generations,” said Wood County Committee on Aging Executive Director Alisha Nenadovich.
The WCCOA, with its eight senior centers spread throughout the county, uses the property tax revenues to provide home-delivered meals, transportation to essential services, and programs to combat isolation for seniors aging at home.
Nenadovich said the levy, which makes up 75% of the agency’s operating budget, is vital to the continuation of those services.
In addition to nutritional meals and transportation, the WCCOA offers seniors opportunities to keep their bodies moving and their minds sharp – through classes on yoga and dance, to programs on current events and cribbage.
Renewal of the levy allows the WCCOA to:
- Maintain and enhance meal programs that support health and independence.
- Provide access to transportation for medical appointments and essential services.
- Offer critical information, referrals and benefits assistance.
- Expand outreach to underserved areas, particularly in southern Wood County.
- Strengthen programming that combats isolation and supports overall well-being.
The levy will allow the senior centers to continue meeting the needs of older residents.
“We are always looking at ways to make services better,” Nenadovich said.
Parks and Rec levy
The Bowling Green Parks and Recreation Board made a tough decision to go for more millage so the department didn’t have to keep digging a deficit.
For 10 years, the millage of the park levy has been 2 mills – but this year, the city asked for a renewal of its existing 2 mills, plus an additional 0.95 mills to help maintain the parks, buildings and programming.
“We didn’t make that decision lightly,” said Parks and Recreation Department Director Kristin Otley. “We wanted to keep it as reasonable as we could.”
The levy committee faced the economic reality that despite making cuts to expenses, the parks and rec department has been encountering more expenses, and consequently has been operating with a deficit budget for the last three years.
“We were cautiously optimistic because the citizens of Bowling Green support the parks so well,” Otley said.
Even though local residents are dealing with higher costs of gas and groceries, they still value the city’s free parks and programs, Otley said.
The parks offer miles of trails, acres of flowers, ball fields, pickleball courts, youth nature camps, a community center, a pool and dog park.
The new 2.95-mill levy will generate about $1.8 million annually.
The levy provides about 40% of the revenue needed to operate the parks and programs. While the millage has been stuck for 10 years, some program fees have inched upward to help pay for expenses.
Bowling Green City Parks and Recreation Department operates nine parks covering 393 acres, plus the community center with new outdoor pickleball courts. The parks, which are spread throughout the community, are settings for sports, nature, gardens, swimming, playing and gathering for special events.
In the last five years, there were 1,662 park shelter rentals and 3,980 building rentals – serving an estimated 257,272 people. The parks are places where people celebrate life’s moments. “This is important stuff,” Otley said.
A community survey on the city’s parks and recreation programs was recently conducted, and that information will be used next year to create a five-year master plan, so the city can continue providing services the residents want.
