Howell County Commissioners met Thursday afternoon to vote on raising or lowering the county’s Road and Bridge tax levy for the upcoming year. The Commission voted to keep the current rate right where it is. The tax ceiling is 21.52, but the commission agreed to keep the rate at 17.75 cents. Which they said would bring in around $450,000 to the Howell County Road & Bridge Department annually. Howell County is the fifth largest county in the state with 25 employees maintaining just over 1,000 miles of roads. Right now the county is working to make sure any bridges damaged by last year’s flood are properly fixed and they say maintaining asphalt roads is a priority. With last years half-cent tax and the current tax levy for the Road and Bridge department, the budget higher than its been. The Road and Bridge Department’s budget is now set at $5.2 million and overall Howell County’s budget is approaching $13 million, which is the biggest budget the county has ever had.