Fire services that residents depend on in three west side villages will be at the center of negotiations in 2025.Addyston, Cleves and North Bend contract with the Miami Township Fire Department for service calls.Miami Township is proposing new contracts that increase the cost of service by 2.0 mill for each village, according to numbers shared by Miami Township administrator Jim Brett.It is a significant increase for the villages: Addyston: +82.3% 2024: $40,104 + 2.0 mill (+$33,000) Cleves: +63.2% 2024: $252,394 + 2.0 mill (+$159,400) North Bend: +51.8% 2024: $189,135 + 2.0 mill (+97,990) It costs a lot of money to run a fire department nowadays, Brett said, citing increases in the cost of labor, insurance and equipment. Its not just increasing at the rate of inflation, its gone up even more than that.The township let the villages know about the expected increase in the next contract in April and shared the contract in November, Brett said.Villages do not need to use Miami Township for their fire services, he said. They can find a different provider or start their own department.But, Bret said, we want to provide the services for them. ... Im confident that we can reach a deal.What happens nextThe current contract expires after Dec. 31. As negotiations continue, Brett said Miami Township offered a 90-day extension of the old contract terms in an effort to let them either search for another provider or to get more information for us to tell their residents.He said the Village of North Bend signed the 90-day extension. Under that agreement, it will receive fire coverage through March as negotiations continue.Councils in Addyston and Cleves have not yet taken up that extension.Addyston Clerk Margaret Dozier said the council will address it at its meeting on Jan. 6.The same will happen at the Cleves council meeting on Jan. 8, according to Administrator Justin Habig.The original proposal, which includes a 62% increase in fire service costs, is untenable, Habig said in an email statement. However, Im optimistic that ongoing discussions with Miami Township will result in a fair and mutually beneficial resolution for both our communities.In the meantime, Habig said, I have been assured there will be no service disruptions.Habig said he believes that all parties recognize the strength of the relationship and that the collaboration has benefited both communities over the years.Impact of November Tax LeviesThe Village of North Bend had two levies on its ballot this November: one to renew fire services and one to increase fire services by 2 mills.The renewal passed, but the increase failed.Addyston voters passed a renewal levy for emergency services. Cleves had no levies on the ballot.Miami Township bundled its renewal and increase levies into one for its fire department. Voters rejected it.We're looking right now at a levy at less millage than what we asked for, and it'll slow down where we wanted to go with hiring new people and adding spots, but we'll get there, Bret said.The administrator said Miami Township will likely ask voters for another levy in May.We can still provide the service that people are used to if we can just get that levy passed, he said.There is a joint meeting scheduled for the villages and the township early next year.