Written with the help of AI from the Dayton City Commission minutes, August 19, 2026.
Notable actions
This recap is based on the approved minutes of the Dayton City Commission’s regular meeting on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, which began at 6:00 p.m. in the Commission Chambers of City Hall. Mayor Turner-Sloss and Commissioners Joseph, Fairchild and Beckham were present. The commission voted unanimously to excuse Commissioner Shaw’s absence, approved the minutes of the August 12 meeting unanimously, and approved the City Manager’s Reports unanimously.
The commission passed Emergency Ordinance No. 32203-26 on first and second reading by a 4-0 roll call vote. An ordinance is a city law. This one amends Section 150.130.7 of the Revised Code of General Ordinances, which deals with the zoning code, and declares an emergency.
Three ordinances passed on second reading, each by a 4-0 roll call vote. No. 32200-26 declares the commission’s intention to vacate the alley east of South Main Street, from the alley south of East Sixth Street to 106.54 feet south of that alley. No. 32201-26 appropriates property, meaning the city acquires land it needs for a public project, designated as Parcels 9 SH & T, 12 T, 15 T, 22 T, 30 T, 33 T, 36 SH & T, 43 T, 46 T, 47 T, 51 T and 54 T for the Smithville Road Reconstruction Project. No. 32202-26 appropriates property designated as Parcels 130 T, 156 T, 166 SH & T, 168 SH & T, 169 T, 171 T, 175 T, 177 T, 180 T, 181 SH & T, 182 SH & T, 183 SH & T, 195 T, 196 T, 197 SH & T and 199 SH & T for the Salem Avenue Reconstruction Phase 5 Project.
Ordinance No. 32204-26 had its first reading. It would levy special assessments for special energy improvement projects in cooperation with the Dayton Regional Energy Special Improvement District. The minutes record no vote on it.
At the request of Office Manager Jai’Shawn McClendon, Informal Resolution No. 1017-26 was added to the calendar. It urges action to protect healthcare and food access for Dayton residents. It had a first reading only and was adopted unanimously on a 4-0 roll call vote.
Comments on agenda items
Eight residents registered to speak on calendar items. Several raised questions about spending, including a proposed $567,952 consultant contract for the employee health insurance opt-out program, a $24,400 lease for city-owned property at 200 East Fifth Street, and the purchase of commercial mowers for vacant lots. Speakers also cited a projected $5–10 million budget shortfall and the lack of a transition plan for Cargill. Others questioned the service agreement with Dayton Public Schools, the effect of tax abatements on school funding, and the proposed hotel. One speaker raised the civil housing penalties ordinance, including how yard standards are communicated. Another questioned the Whoa Dogs lease, which was described as about $400 per month for five years. Four speakers supported the healthcare and food access resolution, citing possible changes to Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP and nursing home care.
City Manager Shelley Dickstein responded to two of those items. She said the health insurance contract is paid from restricted healthcare self-insurance funds and is meant to identify employees who qualify for alternative insurance plans, which saves the city money. Three employees were identified the previous year, she said, with savings of more than $400,000, and the city expects to identify 11 to 12 employees under the new contract, for estimated savings of about $1 million. She also said the Whoa Dogs LLC lease is a triple-net lease, in which the tenant covers maintenance, utilities and exterior upkeep. The tenant is investing nearly $200,000 in improvements, she said, and the agreement is consistent with similar small retail leases in the city.
Mayor Turner-Sloss said the Human Resources Department and administration will review the health insurance contract after its 16-month period. Commissioner Fairchild highlighted the Dayton Public Schools contract, which provides a firefighter/EMT to teach students about careers in firefighting and healthcare, and said students could graduate as qualified EMTs. The mayor also noted that applications for the Youth Climate Action Fund are due October 2, with an information session on September 1.
Presentation and public comment
Dee Wooding presented on the relaunch of the Don’t Be a Litterbug campaign, featuring Lucky, the "First Lady of Litter Prevention." She also described the Academy for a Thriving Community, a seven-month program run with the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission in which 35 participants worked with city and county leaders. Participants will continue through a new Neighborhood Environment Team Action Team, and she shared plans to raise money for litter pickers for residents. Fabrice Juin of the planning commission spoke about the Westwood neighborhood initiative and the Westwood Neighborhood Strategic Plan.
In general citizens’ comments, 23 people registered to speak. Several spoke in support of the litter and neighborhood cleanup efforts. The largest group of speakers raised concerns about Flock cameras and automated license plate readers. They described immigration-related searches, said they wanted an independent investigation, and called for release of audit data and an end to the Flock contract.
Other residents spoke about city spending priorities and transparency, federal cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, poverty, the men’s shelter and the city manager’s salary. Others spoke about school-zone speed cameras, code enforcement, and police investigations and accident reports. Individual speakers also raised conditions and tenant retaliation at Park Layne Apartments, a property bought at auction that drew nuisance notices, worker-owned cooperatives, and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the military-industrial complex.
What commissioners said
Commissioners Beckham and Fairchild and Mayor Turner-Sloss each said they support an independent investigation into Flock camera data sharing. The mayor said four proposals are being reviewed and that the city had difficulty finding firms able to do the work. Commissioner Fairchild said the commission should publicly choose a path, possibly through an informal resolution to review and vote on the proposals.
Commissioner Beckham said the city has invested nearly $600,000 in the Gateway Homeless Shelter. Mayor Turner-Sloss said the $500,000 to $600,000 went to immediate issues during the transition from St. Vincent de Paul to Homefull. Ms. Dickstein said a separate improvement project is estimated at $5 million to $6 million. Commissioner Beckham also said the city has invested $36 million in demolition over five years through ARPA and other funds, and he expressed support for proposed mold and tenant anti-retaliation ordinances.
Commissioner Fairchild and Mayor Turner-Sloss both supported exploring a guaranteed basic income pilot in Dayton. Mayor Turner-Sloss said the city has not received a transition plan from Cargill. She said novelty gun lighter prohibition legislation is under Law Department review, and she supported appointing the hospital board as provided in the voter-approved ordinance. She asked for information on jaywalking citations and urged public education and warnings before heightened enforcement. She also suggested that County Treasurer John McManus present to the commission on how properties enter and leave the county’s depository program for nuisance properties.
Work session and routine items
Before the meeting, the commission held a work session on the Dayton Home Repair Network’s work in 2025 and 2026. Aileen Hull of the Dayton Energy Collaborative and Amanda Harrelson of Rebuilding Together Dayton led the presentation. They reported that the Network had assisted more than 600 households over the two years. It invested more than $7 million in 368 homes in 2025 and about $3.7 million through July 2026. The consolidated waiting list stands at about 2,000 households, roughly 1,200 of them in qualifying census tracts in Dayton. The Network aims to eliminate the urgent-needs portion of the Dayton waiting list by the end of 2028. Its second annual Home Improvement Summit is set for September 11 at the downtown library.
Mayor Turner-Sloss called the meeting to order. Commissioner Beckham gave the invocation, and the mayor led the Pledge of Allegiance. No communications or petitions were received, and the City Manager had no comments on calendar items or at the end of the meeting. The meeting adjourned at 8:41 p.m.
Source: Dayton City Commission minutes, Wednesday, August 19, 2026. Meeting video: watch on YouTube.
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