Written with the help of AI from the Dayton City Commission minutes, August 10, 2026.
What the commissions voted on
This recap is based on the approved minutes of the August 10, 2026, joint meeting. The Dayton City Commission and Montgomery County Commission met in special session at 1:36 p.m. in the Fredrick Smith Auditorium, Building 12, at Sinclair Community College. The minutes record no ordinances (city laws), resolutions or spending items. The recorded votes were procedural.
City Commissioner Shaw moved to excuse Commissioner Joseph’s absence, and Commissioner Fairchild seconded. The Dayton City Commission approved the motion unanimously. Present from the city were Mayor Turner-Sloss and Commissioners Shaw, Fairchild and Beckham. Present from the county were Commissioners Rice, Dodge and McDonald, along with County Administrator Michael B. Colbert.
At the end of the meeting, Mayor Turner-Sloss moved to adjourn and Commissioner Shaw seconded. Both the Dayton City Commission and the Montgomery County Commission approved the motion unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 3:34 p.m. County Commissioner Rice called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Downtown Dayton Working Group presentations
Congressman Mike Turner said the Downtown Dayton Working Group was convened after elected and business leaders raised concerns about downtown safety and the need to protect investment there. He called the group’s recommendations the beginning of a dialogue rather than a final plan, and said the meeting was the first joint city-county session in about 10 years. Wright State President Sue Edwards moderated. She said the effort began with business leaders’ concerns about public safety around the RTA hub. She said the City’s Main Street Visibility Project increased early-morning police coverage and set up a Central Business District substation near the hub. The group approved its recommendations in December. In January the City Commission unanimously directed the administration to review them, and Mayor Turner-Sloss presented the City’s formal response in March.
State Rep. Phil Plummer reported on justice and policing. He cited more police presence downtown, a policing hub near the RTA hub, expanded camera monitoring, an intelligence center and more coordination among the Dayton Police Department, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies. He said the next focus is the court system, including a dedicated downtown court docket overseen by one judge for people who repeatedly enter the justice system.
State Rep. Andrea White covered social services. She pointed to expanded street outreach by the City, the County and Miami Valley Housing Opportunities, and to state and federal investment in the Gateway Men’s Shelter. She also discussed group homes, code enforcement and coordinating after-school programs, internships and workforce opportunities for youth around the RTA hub.
State Rep. Tom Young spoke on intergovernmental coordination. He proposed a structure in which the city, county and state meet regularly and coordinate priorities. He summarized the goal as "three levels of government, one regional strategy and measurable results."
Jason Woodard gave the business community update. He said the business community’s two focuses are helping carry out the recommendations and creating a downtown-specific development fund to encourage capital investment. He also said groups including the Downtown Dayton Partnership, Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, Dayton Development Coalition and Destination Dayton need to coordinate and reduce duplication.
County Commissioner Rice said the County has made more than $15.5 million in investments in downtown Dayton over the past five years. She said it also provides about $3.2 million annually to organizations including the Downtown Dayton Partnership, Destination Dayton, the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce and the Dayton Development Coalition. She listed items that included new security cameras at the historic courthouse, a new job and training center, a behavioral health unit at the jail and a new safety net portal.
Comments from city commissioners
Mayor Turner-Sloss shared early results from the street outreach pilot with Miami Valley Housing Opportunities: 90 connections with individuals, 31 new enrollments in services, six referrals to mental health services, four connections to substance use services, three people obtaining employment and 12 people moving from the street into housing. She said she hopes the partnership can be expanded based on results.
Commissioner Beckham highlighted the Gateway Men’s Shelter investment. He cautioned against placing sole responsibility on Dayton Public Schools to find an alternative to RTA for student transportation, noting the district’s duty to transport charter school students. Commissioner Fairchild backed measurable results, said neighborhood violence deserves the same attention as downtown safety, and supported the mayor’s initiative to reimagine public safety. Commissioner Shaw called the joint conversation overdue, said he favors meeting more regularly, and said work must also continue in Dayton’s neighborhoods.
What residents raised in public comment
Eleven residents spoke. The most common theme was a request that neighborhoods get the same attention and investment as downtown. Speakers contrasted downtown investment with smaller investments in neighborhood organizations, raised the history of redlining and segregation, and called for neighborhood investment to be the next intergovernmental priority. One speaker named North Main Street, West Third Street and East and West Dayton, and asked for transparency on where public money goes, who receives contracts and how many Dayton residents are hired. Several speakers questioned dedicating a judge or court docket to downtown.
Several speakers criticized the working group’s makeup and process. They said community, faith-based and other voices were missing, that the emphasis was on business interests and policing, and that data and root-cause analysis were lacking. One speaker said community members were left out of developing the recommendations but are now being asked to help carry them out. Another disputed the state representatives’ comments about schools and youth, citing their votes on public school funding.
Others spoke about housing and family needs. Topics included food insecurity, mold, lead and lack of basic utilities, evictions, tenants’ lack of legal representation, and a possible housing trust fund. One resident described living in a Trotwood apartment building with black mold and said she placed her rent in escrow while pursuing the issue in court. Another speaker urged support for universal childcare as workforce infrastructure. Another said homelessness and mental illness are separate challenges and called on state legislators to take more responsibility for mental health care, noting the burden on the county jail. One speaker raised concerns about conditions in the Montgomery County Jail, and another raised ICE and Fourth Amendment protections.
County Commissioner McDonald paused public comment to respond. She said the County serves 28 cities and townships and generally follows each municipality’s lead. She said many concerns raised were City of Dayton issues and called for more coordination between the City Manager and the County Administrator. She said she personally does not view downtown as broadly unsafe, cautioned that removing people from downtown without addressing their needs could push problems into neighborhoods, and agreed that important community voices were missing from the working group’s early discussions.
Routine items and other notes
Mayor Turner-Sloss said Congressman Turner had left the meeting because he needed to catch a flight to attend a hearing. County Commissioner Dodge described the meeting as productive and informative and recognized university leaders in attendance, including University of Dayton President Eric Spina. Wright State President Sue Edwards and Sinclair President Steven Johnson were thanked by Congressman Turner for helping bring the two commissions together. The roll call for the County Commission was taken by Clerk of Commission Mary Zoeller, and for the City Commission by Chief of Staff Verletta A. Jackson.
Source: Dayton City Commission minutes, Monday, August 10, 2026. Meeting video: watch on YouTube.
Follow Dayton Report: Facebook · X
