Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Keep our trucks
ready to roll.Vote Yes for Issue 20.
Miami Township, Yellow Springs & Clifton — Greene County, Ohio
Issue 20 is a 0.8-mill levy that pays for Miami Township Fire-Rescue’s trucks and equipment — so we replace them on a schedule instead of scrambling when something breaks.
What it costs a homeowner
$28
per year, for every $100,000 of your home’s county auditor appraised value. About $2.33 a month.
- Millage
- 0.8 mill
- First billed
- 2027
A dedicated fund for the equipment that shows up when you call.
Fire engines and rescue equipment wear out on a predictable schedule. Right now, Miami Township Fire-Rescue has no dedicated way to pay for replacing them — so a truck gets repaired until it can’t be repaired anymore, and then the township is faced with a large, unplanned bill.
Issue 20 changes that. It creates a small, steady source of money reserved for apparatus and equipment, so the department can plan replacements years in advance, finance them at a predictable cost, and avoid the emergency spending that ends up costing taxpayers more.
Issue 20 is an equipment levy. It is a separate question from the operating levy that pays for day-to-day staffing and service.
When the Trustees placed it on the ballot, they committed by Board resolution to limit the money to capital uses only — apparatus, vehicles, equipment and related assets — paired with a maintenance plan to protect what the township buys, and with public reporting every year.
Source: Trustees’ press release Miami Township Board of Trustees, June 15, 2026 “Miami Township Trustees Propose Modest Levy for Fire & EMS Equipment” — the release announcing the levy, the restriction to capital uses, and the engine financing. Downloads a Word document.“Trustees emphasize that the proposal is not centered on a single purchase, but on establishing a predictable, transparent system to replace equipment on schedule and avoid larger, unplanned costs in the future.”
As it appears on your ballot
20 — Proposed Tax Levy (Additional)
Miami Township
A majority affirmative vote is necessary for passage.
There is no “yes” box on the ballot. A yes vote for Issue 20 is the one marked “For the Tax Levy.”
Roughly $182,000 a year — all of it for equipment.
The first priority is a new fire engine. The rest builds the replacement fund that keeps the next truck from becoming an emergency. By Board resolution, none of it can go to operating expenses.
Apparatus
Engines, the medic unit, and support vehicles — the trucks that carry water, tools, and paramedics to your address.
Protective gear
Structural turnout gear — coat, pants, hood, helmet, gloves and boots — and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). National standards retire turnout gear ten years from its date of manufacture, so this is scheduled spending, not discretionary.
A real schedule
The point of a dedicated fund is predictability: known replacement dates, known costs, and no surprise levy when a truck finally quits.
Restricted & reported
By Board resolution the Trustees have limited these funds to capital uses — apparatus, vehicles, equipment and related assets — kept separate from operating expenses, with annual public reporting on how the money is spent.
Source: Trustees’ press release Miami Township Board of Trustees, June 15, 2026 “By Board resolution, funds will be limited to capital uses only, including apparatus, vehicles, equipment, and related assets… including restricted use and annual public reporting.”One station. Twenty-seven square miles. Every call, every hour.
Miami Township Fire-Rescue protects Miami Township in Greene County, the Village of Yellow Springs, and Clifton — about 27.6 square miles — from a single station in downtown Yellow Springs. The department answers more than a thousand emergencies a year: structure fires, crashes on the state routes, medical emergencies, water rescues, and everything in between.
Which Miami Township? Ohio has several. This is the one in Greene County, between Springfield and Xenia. Note that the department’s coverage area is wider than the township itself — see who votes on Issue 20.
The roster is small and mostly part-time: a core of full-time firefighter-medics backed by part-time members and volunteers. There is no second station to cover a call while the first crew is out, and no neighboring department that can reach the far corners of the township quickly. The equipment has to work the first time.
Questions neighbors are asking
What will this actually cost me?
$28 per year for each $100,000 of your home’s appraised value as set by the Greene County Auditor — about $2.33 a month. A home valued at $200,000 would pay roughly $56 a year; a home at $315,800, about $88 a year. Source: Trustees’ press release Miami Township Board of Trustees, June 15, 2026 “For homeowners, the cost is estimated at $28 per $100,000 of appraised value per year.” Downloads a Word document.
Note that this is based on the auditor’s appraised value, which is not necessarily what you paid for your home or what it would sell for today. You can look up your own property’s appraised value on the Greene County Auditor’s website.
Is this a new tax or a renewal?
Issue 20 is an additional levy — a new tax, not a renewal of something you are already paying. It is a continuing levy, meaning it does not expire on its own.
It first appears on tax bills due in calendar year 2027.
Why can’t the department pay for trucks out of its existing budget?
The department’s existing levies fund operations — wages, training, fuel, supplies, and the day-to-day cost of answering calls. There is no meaningful room in that budget to set aside six figures a year toward a $1.35 million fire engine.
The result has been a break-fix cycle: keep repairing a truck until it can no longer be repaired, then face the full replacement cost all at once. Issue 20 exists to end that cycle.
Can this money be spent on anything else?
The purposes are set by the ballot language, which is reproduced word for word above. The levy is written for fire apparatus, rescue and ambulance equipment, buildings and sites, and related costs.
By Board resolution, the money is limited to capital uses only — apparatus, vehicles, equipment and related assets — held separate from operating expenses, with a maintenance plan and annual public reporting on what was spent. The ballot sets the outer limit; the resolution is the Trustees’ commitment inside it.
Source: Trustees’ press release Miami Township Board of Trustees, June 15, 2026 The release announcing the levy, including the resolution restricting funds to capital uses and the commitment to annual public reporting.What happens if Issue 20 fails?
The department keeps running — but the equipment problem does not go away. Aging apparatus stays in service longer, repair costs continue to climb, and the eventual replacement still has to be paid for, most likely through a larger request later.
I have a question that isn’t answered here.
Please ask. Email info@mtffa.org and someone from the committee will get back to you. We would much rather answer a hard question than have you vote on a guess.
Questions about the levy itself — the resolution, the financing, or how the money will be reported — are best put to the Township Trustees, who placed it on the ballot: trustees@miamitownshipGCOH.gov or (937) 767-2460.
How and when to vote
Issue 20 is decided by the people who show up. Here are the dates that matter, and how to make sure you’re registered.
Is Issue 20 on my ballot?
Issue 20 is a Miami Township levy. It goes to registered voters in the township — that includes the Village of Yellow Springs and the part of Clifton that lies within Miami Township.
Clifton is divided by the Greene–Clark county line. The portion within Miami Township votes on Issue 20. The portion in Clark County does not. Source: Greene County Greene County, Ohio — Small Communities & Townships “Clifton Village is divided by the Greene and Clark County line.” The county’s official page.
Either way, Issue 20 pays for Miami Township Fire-Rescue’s trucks and equipment. It does not change any department’s coverage area.
Not sure which applies to you? A mailing address doesn’t settle it. Your voter registration shows the precinct you vote in — check it below.
Key dates
- Mon, Oct 5 Voter registration deadline Last day to register or update your address for this election. Boards of elections stay open until 9:00 p.m.
- Tue, Oct 6 Early in-person voting opens Vote at the Greene County Board of Elections in Xenia. Hours expand in the final week.
- Tue, Oct 27 Absentee ballot request deadline Your written request must reach the Board of Elections by this date.
- Sun, Nov 1 Early in-person voting ends
- Tue, Nov 3 Election Day Polls are open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. You must vote at your assigned precinct polling place.
Register or check your registration
Registering in Ohio takes a couple of minutes online and needs your Ohio driver’s license or state ID. You can also confirm you’re already registered and see which precinct you vote in.
You are eligible if you are a U.S. citizen, will be at least 18 on November 3, 2026, and have lived in Ohio for at least 30 days before the election.
Greene County Board of Elections
551 Ledbetter RoadXenia, OH 45385
(937) 562-6170
Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Put a sign in your yard.
Yard signs are the cheapest advertising a levy campaign has, and they work. Tell us where to bring one and a volunteer will drop it off — free, and we’ll pick it up after the election if you’d like.
Need literature for a neighborhood meeting, a church bulletin, or your street? Ask for that here too.
Request a yard sign
Signs are delivered to addresses in Miami Township and Yellow Springs.
Vote Yes for Issue 20 on November 3.
Twenty-eight dollars a year per $100,000 of home value, for the trucks and gear that answer every call in Miami Township, Yellow Springs, and Clifton.