Lexington County Council has approved reconsideration of a $1.2 million purchase for a new fire engine for Lexington County Fire Rescue.

Chief M. Kyle Minick approached Lexington County Council during a budget work session on Tuesday, May 5, requesting the item be added to the department’s proposed 2026-27 fiscal year budget of $32,149,438, according to county council documents.

“This is not a recurring ask, just a one-time ask,” Minick said. “While we have prioritized needs and came up with a budget with council, things outside of our control have come up and have led me to ask for an additional $1.2 million for the purchase of a new engine.”

According to Minick, the National Fire Protection Association recommends fire engines be moved to reserve status after 15 years of normal use and removed from service after 25 years.

Lexington County Fire Service currently operates 22 frontline engines and seven reserve engines. The department expects to replace several reserve engines approaching 24 years old, nearing the point they must be removed from service.

“We are wearing these trucks out at a rapid pace due to our call volume and what we do,” Minick said.

The requested $1.2 million fire engine would replace a 22-year-old engine with 248,196 miles that is expected to be taken out of service this year, according to Minick. He told council the trucks and equipment have an approximately two-year build time, meaning a purchase during FY2026-27 would allow delivery by 2029. Minick said that timeline makes the request especially critical this year.

According to reports from Lexington County Fire Service, the department responded to 21,675 calls in 2025, resulting in 36,875 unit responses. Records also show each frontline engine responds to an average of 815 calls annually.

The department uses that data to rotate apparatus throughout the county to extend the life of the trucks, moving frontline engines from higher-volume stations to lower-volume stations. According to NFPA guidance, that practice helps extend engine life from 10 years to 15 years.

Councilman Larry Brigham, who represents District 2, voiced support for the purchase.

“I am a strong advocate of EMS and fire service,” he said. “We have to have those services funded properly. We have to continue to update equipment and it is very costly. If we continue to wait on this, this could cost $1.5 million, $1.7 million… I don’t see a reason to put this off, but put this on the consideration list to be rediscussed during the budget process.”

Brigham then made a motion for council to reconsider the request during budget discussions and it was unanimously approved.

Lexington County Council, as well as all Lexington County municipalities, are working through the annual budget process to have balanced budgets approved before the start of the 2026-27 fiscal year on July 1.

County Council unanimously approved first reading by title only to adopt the 2026-27 fiscal year budget during the April 28 meeting.

During the meeting, the recommended budget detailed $336,364,386 in appropriations across the general and non-general funds. During fiscal year 2025-26, appropriations across the general and non-general fund were approved at $314,746,387.

The recommended appropriations for the general fund budget for the upcoming fiscal year total $221,452,961. During the fiscal year 2025-26, the general fund budget appropriations totaled $208,700,289.

The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department would have 31.68% of the recommended 2026-27 general fund budget. Fire service would have 17.19% of the recommended 2026-27 general fund budget. Emergency Medical Services would have 13.53% of the recommended 2026-27 general fund budget. Public Works would have 6.91% of the recommended 2026-27 general fund budget. 9-1-1 Communications would have 2.57% of the recommended 2026-27 general fund budget.

Therefore, these five departments would take up 71.88% of the proposed general fund budget for fiscal year 2026-27.

A public hearing for the budget is scheduled for May 26.

The recommended budget is available online on the county’s website under the finance tab. There is a link to budget documents available after clicking on the finance tab.

It is not clear at this time if there will be a millage increase. There was not one during the 2025-26 fiscal year. The last time county council raised the millage was for the 2023-24 fiscal year, according to earlier Chronicle reporting.

In short, millage, or a mill, is used to calculate local property taxes.

“One mill is equal to one thousandth of a dollar per $1 of assessed property value,” according to the Municipal Association of South Carolina. “If a city council approves a tax of 90 mills, then the taxpayer will pay $90 per $1,000 of assessed property value.”

The print deadline was before the May 12 Lexington County Council meeting.