New Miami Mayor Patti Hanes said her village “absolutely needs their fire department and we’re going to fight to get this passed.”

Hanes was speaking of Issue 11, a proposed five-year, replacement and increase levy that totals 2-mills that renews the current 1-mill levy and adding another 1-mill to provide and maintain fire apparatus and emergency equipment, apparatus, buildings and for providing sources of water supply for fire protection.

If this levy is passed, the owner of a home valued at $100,000 would pay $28.37 for existing 1-mill fire levy and would pay $32.88 for the additional 1-mill increase for an approximate total of $61.25 a year for five years, according to the Butler County Auditor’s Office.

The existing fire levy currently generates about $21,020 and the village appropriated $36,500 from its 2012 General Fund budget, according to Belinda Ricketts, New Miami’s fiscal officer.

Fire Chief Jerry Cook, a 38-year veteran of the department, said the village passed a 10-year 1-mill levy to purchase a fire truck, but that levy is not generating enough revenue to make full payments and it expires at the end of 2012. He said declining property values are decreasing tax revenues.

“We operate on a small budget and we spend what we have to spend,” Cook said. “We buy the necessities but by no means do we overspend.”

Grants and its General Fund appropriation are keeping the department of 24 volunteers afloat, he said. But state budget cuts could have an impact on its General Fund appropriation from the village.

Cook said in 2003, the village received a FEMA grant for $84,000 to purchase a thermal imager and protective bunker gear such as helmets, masks, gloves, jacket and pants . In 2010, there was a state grant for $10,000 to buy three sets of bunker gear. However, the gear purchased in 2003 has a 10-year limit for use and will need to be replaced. Cook said a set of basic bunker gear costs about $1,500.

In addition to equipment replacement, Cook said the department’s 1996 engine will need to be refurbished or replaced as well.

The village fire department averages about $4,000 a year from donations from various foundations, he said. Cook also said it’s difficult for New Miami to apply for larger grants because it cannot provide the 10 percent to 15 percent in local matching funds required for those grants. He said the department usually averages between $7,000 to $8,000 a year in grants.