Miami County adopts 2026 budget after cuts and public objections over property taxes

Miami County commissioners on a largely attended meeting adopted the county—s 2026 budget after reducing earlier proposed increases and hearing more than a dozen residents who urged the board to hold the line on property taxes. The board voted 4-1 to adopt the budget after an earlier separate roll-call vote authorized a resolution to exceed the state—s revenue-neutral property tax rate.

The board agreed to remove $200,000 previously proposed to backfill Miami County Health Department grant reductions and to cut the proposed asphalt/materials increase from $750,000 to $500,000, generating an overall reduction of $450,000 from the initial draft. Commissioners kept a proposed 4 percent employee pay increase in place. County staff said the proposals reflect a multiyear effort to address road maintenance, equipment replacement and personnel retention.

Why it matters: The budget vote follows repeated public comments that described steady property tax increases and urged the board to cut spending. Commissioners said they weighed the competing goals of maintaining roads, public safety and county…