Miami County commissioners agreed in a June 25 study session to keep Fire District 1 on a revenue‑neutral path and to hold the mill levy for Fire District 2 constant for the 2026 budget, staff said.

Lucas Mellinger, assistant county administrator, presented reserve balances and a capital request list prepared with fire district leadership. "Currently, our fire district 1 reserve account is at 676, and then our fire district 2 reserve accounts at 714," he said, referring to thousands of dollars in available reserves. He reviewed planned capital outlays and noted a large apparatus replacement candidate in 2027.

Mellinger summarized color‑coded capital requests and a proposed transfer to reserves. "If we were to do a revenue neutral budget, it would go down from 3.3 to a 3.16 in fire district number 1," he said, describing the mill levy change that would keep revenue constant given current valuations.

Commissioners accepted revenue‑neutral treatment for Fire District 1 and mill‑levy neutrality for Fire District 2. "We all okay with that?" Mellinger asked; commissioners replied, "Yep. I'm good with that." The board also discussed volunteer firefighter stipend parity between districts and possible future steps to unify compensation, but no immediate countywide change was enacted.

Staffers flagged a near‑term capital need: one station had scheduled apparatus replacement values that could approach $1 million in 2027, and commissioners noted the county has historically sought used apparatus to lower costs. Staff will present procurement and replacement options and updated reserve projections at upcoming budget hearings.