Good evening.

The Dayton City Commission meeting will now come to order.

This evening's invocation will be given by Commissioner Joseph.

Thank you, Mayor.

Dear Lord, thank you for your many blessings.

Please guide us in our focus on the humble things of life.

Please grant us wisdom and humility to carry out your will.

Please help us to continue to reach residents in all parts of the city and to provide encouragement for the days to come.

Amen.

Amen.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God.

Ms.

McClendon, may we please have a roll call?

Mayor Turner Sloss.

Aye.

Commissioners Joseph.

Aye.

Shaw.

Fairchild.

Aye.

Beckham.

Aye.

May I please have a motion to excuse the absence of Commissioner Shaw?

So moved, Your Honor.

Second the motion, Your Honor.

It has been properly moved and seconded to excuse the absence of Commissioner Shaw.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed say no.

May I have a motion to approve the minutes of the January the 14th, 2026 meeting?

So move your Honor.

Second the motion, Your Honor.

It has been properly moved and second to approve the minutes of the January the 14th, 2026 meeting.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed say no.

Ms.

McClendon, are there any communications or petitions?

There are none, Your Honor.

There are no presentations this evening.

Ms.

McClendon, are there any additions, deletions, or comments to the calendar this evening?

There are none, Your Honor.

Thank you, Ms.

McClendon.

Ms.

Lofton, are there any additions, deletions, or comments to the calendar this evening?

Your Honor, uh, while I have no additions or deletions to uh this evening's calendar, I would like to highlight items A3 and B4, which are two important agreements that demonstrate our commitment to supporting the professional and personal well-being of our city employees.

A three is a professional service agreement with Spee Space Creator LLC for $105,000 or $52,000 and $500 annually for two years.

Um 1231 2027.

And the purpose of this agreement is to provide consulting services that improve organizational culture within the police department.

This includes leadership development programming, curriculum design, cohort facilitation, and continuing education under the From Line to Leader program that has been instituted in the police department.

And of course, these efforts aim to strengthen the leadership skills, primarily of the supervisors in the police department, enhance retention, and foster a positive work environment.

And item B4 is with Premier Community Health.

Uh it's our employee assistance program and substance abuse uh services.

And this is for a $350,000 or $75,000 annually over five years.

Uh and the term ends December 31st, 2030.

And again, this is to continue providing confidential counseling, critical incident response, and substance abuse professional services for our employees and their families.

These resources help address personal challenges, promote mental health, and ensure compliance with all of our federal standards.

And why does this all matter?

Because investing in our employees' professional growth and personal health is essential for building a resilient, high-performing workforce.

These agreements together provide tools and support that help both our police department and all of our employees in the city thrive, reduce stress, and maintain a safe, productive workplace, ultimately benefiting the entire organization and our Dayton community.

So it's with pleasure that I present those two agreements this evening.

And that is all.

Thank you, Ms.

Lofton.

Really appreciate the detail.

Thank you.

Ms.

McClendon, are there any citizens registered to speak this evening?

Your Honor, there are no citizens registered to speak on calendar items.

Thank you, Ms.

McClendon.

Commissioners.

Commissioner Beckham.

Um not many comments tonight.

I do, I am just a little curious.

Um I know the organization is going through an organization-wide uh cultural uh kind of evaluation.

I this seems, of course, uh for the police department specific and you know kind of drills down in that particular department.

Can you just speak a little more to how the two are going to complement each other?

Sure.

This is directly born out of the culture initiative.

So every department went through an exercise and created their uh individual culture plans to help improve the culture of their individual organizations, which ultimately will translate into the overall culture of the organization.

And this initiative came out of that plan specifically to focus on um the supervisors and training them up and getting them prepared to lead uh effectively and to um make sure that the culture that the police department is trying to implement filters all the way down to the street uh officer.

So this is this is an implementation of their culture plan that has been adopted.

Thank you, Ms.

Lofton.

You're welcome.

Thank you, Commissioner Beckham.

Commissioner Fairchild.

No questions or comments tonight.

Thank you.

Commissioner Joseph.

Nothing today, thank you, Mayor.

Thank you.

May I have a motion to approve the city manager's recommendation?

So moved.

Second motion, Your Honor.

Thank you.

It has been properly moved and second to approve the city manager's recommendations.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed say no.

Legis legislation, Ms.

McClendon.

First reading emergency resolution number 6915-26, appointing a member to the Montgomery County Convention Facilities Authority and declaring an emergency.

Having been declared an emergency, I move for the immediate passage of a resolution number 6915-26.

Second the motion, Your Honor.

Thank you.

It has been properly moved properly, excuse me, moved in second to declare an emergency resolution number 6915-26 as an emergency.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed say no.

Second reading emergency resolution number 6915-26, appointing a member to the Montgomery County Convention Facilities Authority.

Mayor Turner Sloss.

Aye.

Commissioners Joseph.

Aye.

Fairchild.

Aye.

Beckham.

Aye.

That is all, Your Honor.

Thank you, Ms.

McClendon.

This evening we have a board appointment.

Yes, ma'am.

Your Honor, I move to appoint Colle Ryan to the Montgomery County Convention Facilities Authority for a term ending December 31st, 2029.

I second the motion.

Thank you.

It has been properly moved and seconded to a appointment Ms.

Colleen Hunt to the Montgomery County Convention Facilities Authority for a term ending December 31, 2029.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed say no.

I believe now we are open for a public hearing.

Ms.

Lofton.

Yes, thank you.

Good evening, Commissioners and members of our public.

Tonight we are holding a public hearing on the city's 2026 budget.

A process that began months ago and reflects extensive input from our community, the commission, and our internal teams.

The proposed budget has been publicly available since October 2025, and we've provided multiple opportunities for engagement throughout its development.

This budget is built on our policy budget framework, which ensures that resources align with community priorities and measurable outcomes.

It also addresses key areas raised by both the Commission and our residents.

It supports youth activities, housing stability, violence prevention, public safety, and neighborhood revitalization.

It also ensures our two major enterprises, the Aviation Department and our water departments are well funded to protect our public health, drive economic development, and enhance business business and visitor experiences in our community.

The 2026 plan makes significant investments in program for young people, expanded housing options and home repairs, and initiatives like our Cure Violence and the Mediation Response Unit.

It is all designed to improve community safety.

It strengthens police and fire services and accelerates demolition and redevelopment of blighted properties throughout the city.

It also funds capital equipment and infrastructure upgrades to keep our city's assets strong and service delivery efficient throughout our neighborhoods.

This is a balanced budget that meets all of our legal requirements and reflects our commitment to fiscal responsibility.

It positions Dayton for continued progress, supporting families, strengthening neighborhoods, and investing in the infrastructure and services that make our city vibrant.

Thank you for your engagement and partnership in this process.

At this time, I'd like to call Abby Patel Jones, the Director of Management and Budget, to give a brief presentation summarizing the process, the budget, and our next steps for adopting our City of Dayton 2026 budget.

Thank you, City Manager.

Good evening, Mayor, Commissioner, City Manager, Clearly.

Good evening.

Good evening.

As the city manager mentioned, today's public hearing is being held for the 2026 budget.

And before we get started with the presentation, I want to reiterate what the city manager mentioned before this evening's public hearing.

The public input process following the city manager's recommended budget presentation, which took place as you know on October 15th.

Public access to the proposed budget has made been uh has been made available through the city's website through the city commission office and the city's financial transparency portal, Dayton Open Data.

So diving into the agenda, um, we will walk through the summary of the budget process to date.

Um we will also review the 2026 budget, um, including the general fund's major budget solutions, um, the budget resolution as it was adopted, and we will then lastly talk through some of the key dates.

This slide provides an overview of the critical components of the budget process, um, which began in July.

I apologize.

Could you please zoom in to make it clear as much as possible, please?

Thank you, ma'am.

I appreciate it.

Yes, ma'am.

Thank you.

All right.

So as I was saying, this slide provides the representation and overview of the critical components of the budget process, which began in July and it spans nearly nine months.

While the text, I understand it is a bit small on the on the graphic.

The graphic illustrates the scope full scope of the budget process to date.

Um on the left hand side, you can see the key public processes, and on the right hand side, we see the key administrative processes.

Under the key public processes, um, you'll see the participants who contribute to the budget process, which includes the Dayton residents, businesses, and stakeholders, as well as the city commission, the city manager's office, management budget, along with the department directors and the fiscal staff, who all provide input and feed into the budget process on a continuous basis.

The public input includes initiatives such as the Dayton survey, the annual Dayton survey, which was mailed to the households at the end of summer.

We are in the process of analyzing the data, and we hope to bring the final presentation to you in a work session in the in the coming months.

We also gather input through the Dayton Open Data, which allows residents to view the city's financial information and provide feedback on the portal itself.

Additionally, there are boards and advisory groups such as the community and neighborhood development advisory board and the revenue advisory committee, who also play an integral role in the budget process.

The city also gathers input by participating in the neighborhood association meetings as well as through various community engagement efforts, which includes the mayor's porch tour, and it also includes the quarterly neighborhood presidents forum meetings, which provide valuable resident input.

The city commission also contributes to the budget process by interacting with the city manager's office.

Um, the annual performance management report, which is also shared, uh the monthly finance committee updates, um, which also includes in-person quarterly briefings.

The city manager also provides budget direction and recommendations while individual city departments are actively involved through series of meetings during the peak budget season.

All of these contributions help prioritize and set the direction for the budget, and that begins after we analyze six months of financial data and start estimating revenues for the upcoming fiscal year.

Before finalizing the revenue projections, we engage with the revenue advisors group to gather their input, their respective industries insights.

Um, three budget cycles ago, which allows us the shifted timeline, um, which was about a month ahead, which allows for more time for deliberation and input.

Does this work?

Yes, ma'am.

Thank you.

So based on the projected revenues and expenditures, 2026 general fund budget was balanced mostly with one-time sources that totals to about 14.8 million dollars as outlined on this slide.

As you can see, we have 1.5 million dollars that's coming from one health insurance holiday that is planned for fiscal year 2026.

We also have 1.3 million dollars from FEMA tornado reimbursement from the 2019 tornado.

5 million is coming from the interest earnings that have been accumulated over the past few years from ARPA that money that we received from the federal government.

We also have 4 million of use of cash reserve.

In addition to these major one-time budget solutions or one-time budget sources, we also have nearly $800,000 in budget cuts primarily in contracts and material across general fund departments.

Additionally, we have $450,000 reduction in investments on in annual investments, which includes $150,000 each from development fund, capital projects, and capital equipment, which also includes technology.

We have also reduced fringe rate based on the past trends, which accounts for nearly $600,000 savings.

We are utilizing $300,000 of unclaimed funds to balance the budget, and lastly, we have identified new revenue that is nearly $900,000.

All of this helps to balance the budget specifically for the general fund for 2026.

The appropriation is the city's legal authority to make expenditures and incur obligations, as you know.

The city charter requires that the city commission adopt the budget resolution prior to the beginning of the fiscal year.

The charter also requires that the city manager prepare an appropriation ordinance consistent with the approved budget resolution, which is a temporary appropriation.

State law requires that the annual appropriation be adopted no later than April 1st, and this table in front of you shows the 2026 budget resolution as outlined in the ordinance and as presented during the October work session.

As you can see here, the top section on the right hand side shows the governmental fund, which includes the general fund, special revenue funds, debt service, capital project funds, and permanent funds.

This totals to nearly $370 million.

On the right-hand side, you can see the breakdown of what all is included in the special revenue funds, which includes roadway maintenance, all HUD operating and non-operating funds, miscellaneous grants, and other special revenue.

In totality, as you can see, our annual appropriation is slightly over $1 billion.

It is operating in capital budget as we discussed during the budget work session.

And for any of the community members who are interested in the detailed proposed budget organized by community service area, community priorities, and program areas, all presentations that were presented to you in the October 15th work session are available on the city's website.

The presentations were also streamed live.

That means they're recorded.

Those recordings are also available on City's YouTube site.

And as I mentioned earlier, this information is also available on the transparency portal, Dayton Open Data, which is which can be found at the bottom of the page on the city's website.

And so to walk through the key dates, as you know, January 11th is when the public notice of the public hearing was published in the Dayton Daily newspaper.

Today is January 21st, which is when the public hearing is taking place.

Following that, on February 8th, the entire appropriation will be published in Dayton Daily News, with the first reading taking place on February 18th and the second reading taking place on February 25th.

As you know, the appropriation is effective 30 days after the second reading, which means the original appropriation will become effective as of March 27th.

So unless there are any questions, we can proceed with the public hearing.

Yes, ma'am.

Can you go back?

What was the grant total again?

The special revenue, the general fund.

Remind us what the grants want to go back to that slide.

Okay.

What I want to uh mention here is that this appropriation does not include the prior year unexpended appropriation.

And so the original appropriation will be different from what you see in front of you because it will include the prior year unexpended unexpended appropriation.

Okay.

Thank you, Ms.

Thank you, Ms.

Patel.

Ms.

Patel Jones, thank you.

All right.

Ms.

McClendon, are there any uh citizens register registered, excuse me, to speak on the public hearing?

Your Honor, there are no citizens registered to speak on the public hearing.

Thank you, Ms.

McClendon.

Commissioners, do you have any comments or questions on the public hearing?

Uh not at the moment.

Thank you, ma'am.

Thank you.

Commissioner Fairchild.

Yeah.

This is a question I've raised in the past.

I'm curious if we could go back to the slide of the process.

Um this is a new slide for me.

It looks different than the one we typically see.

In the previous slide or um graphic, there would be a a place for evaluation of the budget of the pol, you know the budget is supposed to be a policy budget.

We have these five CSAs, 14 objectives.

Can you describe that process?

So that's the process as the city manager mentioned.

That's the policy budget framework, which includes the five CSA and 14 community priorities with program area nested under it.

That is all part of the budget process.

As we're working through this budget process, um we look at each CSA and the priorities within each CSA and the program areas within each of those priorities.

Um that is what's presented during the October presentation to you.

Right.

And the question I have is in that usually happens around Q3, right?

We haven't had the full year, Q4, and so I've been told that we can't do a full evaluation because we don't have the whole year in place.

So now that the full year has been completed, I'm I'm I'm curious of when do we go back and look and say this was our objective, this was the intended outcome, and this is how we know we're moving in the right direction on that outcome.

So that is provided at the end of uh February normally, uh, because we have to wait till we close the fiscal year.

Um and then we give department time, departments time to gather the data for their performance metrics.

And so the report is not finalized.

The annual final report is not finalized until at the end of February.

That report provides all of the results of all of the performance metrics that are nested under those community priorities and the CSAs.

And what's that report titled?

Uh it's the performance measures report.

Okay.

And will we see that before we adopt the budget?

Commissioner, you um when we presented the budget in October, right?

Um we give um not only the forward look of what the objectives and the priorities will be for the coming year, but there's also remember uh a lot of conversation around what we have accomplished to date.

So in that presentation, um you saw through the third quarter what the performance was uh around the priorities that were set for 20 uh 5.

Right.

And so that gives a snapshot.

What um Abby is speaking of in terms of totality is that the fourth quarter has to be we won't report on until we close out our books, which has happened.

And so you will get a 12-month look back on 25 performance objectives in April.

Or I'm sorry, probably March, closer to March.

Okay.

Um, I think that that's uh an area where we could improve in terms of evaluating the budget and really the uh the objectives.

I think in the um previous, we talked about whether our spending leads to outcomes that are effective, efficient, and um I'm looking for ways that we demonstrate, you know, the intended outcome and that effectiveness and efficiency.

So as we move forward, and particularly as we think about next year's budget process, that's an area where I'd really like for us to put some some thought to Yeah, thank you.

Do you do you have any other comments?

No questions?

No, I don't.

Okay.

Thank you, Commissioner.

Commissioner Joseph.

Nothing further, thank you.

All right, thank you.

Thank you, Ms.

Patel Jones.

And now close the public hearing.

What is the pleasure of the commission?

Yeah.

Thank you.

Ms.

McClendon, are there any citizens registered to speak this evening?

Your Honor, there are eight citizens registered to speak.

I would like to state that there is a three-minute time limit.

As you address the commission, we ask that you state your name and address for the record.

At that time, I will turn on the green light.

When the green light comes on, you will have three minutes to speak.

After you have spoken two and a half minutes, a yellow light will come on, and you will have 30 seconds remaining to speak.

When the red light comes on, you will be asked to cease your comments and to take your seat.

To the audience in attendance, please be mindful this is a business meeting, and we kindly request that during this portion of the meeting, you refrain from any hand clapping, finger snapping and conversation that would prevent the city commission from hearing the speakers' comments.

I call to the podium, Kevin Moore.

Name and address for the record.

My name is Kevin Moore, Kevin Wood is C.

I live in 1442, Philadelphia Drive.

Good evening.

I'm here to talk about all the good things that y'all have done.

I see buildings going up on Third Street, uh, the soda baths, new police station, but it's one thing that's troubled me.

This address 410, 14 Gettysburg.

14 Gettysburg.

You know what that is?

That is a military base.

And oh, I'm a veteran.

And all the proposals y'all have been saying, the new revenue, unclaimed funds.

There's been nothing said about how to help a veteran.

And no, I'm just appalled.

I mean, I know we got money to help veterans.

You know, and that building sitting been sitting there for about what, four or five years.

It could be what?

An incubator, it could give it to the VA, you can make it open for a vet center or something.

He's just sitting there going to waste.

And I I I would like to know what we can do to make it better.

Thank you, Mr.

Moore.

I appreciate your your comments this evening.

Something that Ms.

Lofton that we should look into and get more detailed information.

So again, you you're not the first, and I'm sure you will not be the last.

Um this is something that is of concern for all of us.

So thank you again.

We appreciate you being here and addressing the Commission.

Thank you, Ms.

Lofton.

Thank you, ma'am.

Thank you, Mr.

Moore.

I call to the podium, Kathleen Galt.

Kathleen Gault, 5066, Safeway Drive, Dayton.

Congrats again to Commissioner Fairchild, Mayor Shanese Turner Sloss, and Darius.

Good evening.

I also want to once again say congrats to the voters for taking hospital issue nine across the goal by a city attorney John Musto said on 1146 by an overwhelming margin.

So he confirmed once again what we've been saying to all of you for years, that the people of Northwest Dayton are very upset about the closing and destruction of good Sam.

And they took this opportunity to take it to they stepped up to the plates and they voted for issue nine and took it over that goalpost.

So I am asking, because of being down in the trenches for seven years on this issue, that I would like to ask commissioners and the mayor to meet with the former presidents of CCC, Reverend Carter, Reverend Merritt Worthen, the present present president, Bishop Cox, and Nancy Keel, meet with them in regard to what we discovered over these years and talk in detail about the list of doctors, psychiatrists, and other hospital professionals that we have accumulated over those seven years, who we would recommend being on the governing board.

And I really celebrate Attorney Mousto saying that they're encouraging a public hearing, so to hear from the public about the issue.

I'm a little confused because one would think that crime data on all the neighborhoods would be come first before determining where special attention and money should be spent.

In downtown Dayton, he wants it to focus on downtown Dayton.

We know that they are the political and economic elite of Dayton who are on that group in that group.

I'm a 73-year-old lady.

I've been walking in downtown Dayton at night for the last eight years from say 8 to 10 p.m.

Walking six, five, six blocks.

I was parked far away so I can get my exercise wherever I'm going.

I have never had one problem.

Only friendly people, I always greet them and say, How are you doing?

But I've never had a problem in downtown Dayton ever.

Not once.

So I would encourage the city of Dayton.

If you indeed are going to give Representative Turner that money and focus, pick the highest crime rate, crime rate and do it at the same time.

Because it's really unfair to just focus on downtown Dayton.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ms.

Gott.

I call to the podium Cairo Wood.

Name and address for the record.

You may begin.

If any member of government, foreign or domestic, would like godly information on how I was able to have Donald Trump submit to me stating this may be America's last Christmas as well as the strikes that took place on Christmas, let me know.

If any government, foreign or domestic, would like any information on how I was able to use God's power, having Biden submit to me using spiritual warfare and the borders crisis, having him to say, don't talk to Ohio, let me know.

If any government, foreign or domestic would like information on how I use God's power to send distress signals to shut down the earth for my protection with the war of Israel and Gaza, let me know.

If any government, foreign or domestic, would like any information on how I was able to get Putin to submit to me and pull up with nuke tanks when Biden was in office, let me know, as well as summoning his allies to back him up.

If any government would like to know my supernatural control of Putin's dead hand, let me know.

If any government, foreign or domestic, would like to know any information on how I was able to have nations denounce the U.S.

as well as the US dollar using God's spiritual power, let me know.

If any government, foreign or domestic would like information on how I may catering police dog Thor Cower, let me know.

When they tried to make him sit uh sick me and pointed a gun.

If any government, foreign or domestic would like information on how I um protect it.

Oh, on how to protect their country, state, city, or whatever, from a hotter than uh Sodom and Gomorrah uh natural disaster from God, let me know.

But not Ohio, because last time I checked, they were on the list.

If any government, foreign or domestic, would like to know how I was able to manipulate the weather causing earthquakes to shake buildings and supernatural defense, let me know.

If any government, foreign or domestic would like, as well as cosmetic surgeons would like any information on how I was able to have God destroyed the collagen and elasticity of C.

Eppley and A.

Capizi, as well as other officials that haven't died yet, let me know.

I also have the renewal of the eagle with me of the UNUR of youth.

This is a wisdom handed down by me from God.

Um it's my inheritance.

This is free information, and God said it would not hurt for you to learn from me for anything, it will help.

I found an ancient breach inside the American system coming out of the state of Ohio that has granted me this power and authority to do this, and in order to provide what God calls soul security for national leaders and general public.

All you will need is a fortress, and it will be a firewall to prevent hackings of the soul, providing soul protection, and is a quick fix.

I have been experimenting with this power for decades.

Is it it?

Okay, to be continued.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ms.

Wood.

I call to the podium, Paul Carrigan.

Good evening, Paul Kerrigan, 1525 Pershing Boulevard.

Good evening.

Start with saying congratulations, New York.

Nice to see you there instead of there where Mr.

Beckham is now sitting.

Congratulations to you.

I looked at your bio.

Quite impressive.

You're one of those very special, unique people.

I'm glad you're leadership right now.

Thank you.

I had a handout that I brought.

I hope you got with you.

It shows the results of the black traffic box I spoke of the last time I was here in 2025.

Things stuck out to me right away, and I knew it was a high volume because we have a lot more traffic than do the next streets, John Glenn, Coventry, Father, and Rosemont.

9,520 in two weeks drove down my street.

That blew me away.

I know I'm sure that Smithville's probably 20 times that, to be honest.

It's probably up in that area.

Then at the bottom, look at the volume.

You see the threshold each day of the week.

The threshold, you see the top right corner of this page?

See what the threshold violation threshold is?

10.

Wow.

So I now have evidence presented by you guys, provided by the police department.

I gotta stop and go back to that.

Because Sergeant Gordon Cyrons provided me with this data.

Took me days to find the right person to talk to because few people in the police department know about these black boxes.

There's only three have been put in the city.

One of them is that Pershing one.

The other one was put on Valley, and it was on East Third Street.

Both third streets have 35 mile an hour speed limits and weren't in residential districts with homes on both sides with children and cats and dogs and people.

This is 25 miles an hour street.

And I don't want to go rehash the whole about the uh petition process, which was flawed.

Because what I'm talking about, just Pershing Hill from Marymount down to St.

Charles, that drastic here with blind spots at both ends.

Not the petition that included the entire street all the way to Wayne Avenue and the cul-de-sac that I live on the corner of, also included in that poll.

I you know I have because I showed it to you before.

Been up and down, talk to everybody on the hill.

Nobody said no except for one.

They all wanted the speed bump.

And I'm not rehashing that.

That's gone.

Now you have this evidence.

Let's see if something can happen.

Instead of me just coming up here and getting no results.

See if the wheels start turning and something happens on my street, because it's been decades.

Whoever laid out this city didn't know.

And the sergeant I spoke to, give me this information.

Confess that, yeah, we know that Pershing is used as a cut through to the southeastern quadrant of the Dayton.

You take uh R Street all the way down to where it gets into Waterville and Wayne to Little Jog, you're over on Father, you're out at the end, you're at Wilmington and Patterson where that car wash wanted to go in that right eight.

So you come out.

No, and the cops said no traffic lights.

That's why they do it.

See the high speeder there.

That's only one.

There are many more in that two-week period.

So that's where I'm at.

I hope to hear from somebody.

Good point.

I'm here next week.

Something comes back to me or before then.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And Miss Loftam, if I if I correct, we do have some recommendations from staff.

If I my memory serves me correct, and I'm sure that we will be revisiting those recommendations.

Is that correct, Miss Halton?

I will look into making sure that that's okay.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Herring.

I call to the podium Paula Humphrey.

Paula Humphrey, 201 West Fairview Avenue.

Hello, Commissioners and Mayor.

Thank you.

Have you started maybe again?

Yes.

Okay.

I live in the North Main Street corridor, and I represent those of us who are seniors who have lived in our neighborhoods for well over 40 and 50 years.

We are a minority.

But collectively, we have acquired much insight and knowledge regarding the changes that Dayton has experienced through the decades.

Our neighborhoods in the past were prominent, vibrant, and wonderful places for families.

Now this area is horribly blighted and dirty, a dirty area marked by crime and violence.

The change was gradual and progressive.

People spoke out and appealed to the city government for help and support.

Very little was given.

Some problems were unavoidable and could not be solved by government.

When court ordered busing was initiated, there was a mass exodus.

Many residents left, but many remained behind and vowed to embrace the integration of public schools and welcomed the end of segregation in Dayton.

We were known as urban pioneers, wanting a better life for our children, who we raised to respect our races and cultures, and fulfill Dr.

King's prayer that white children and black children would sit side by side in classrooms.

People adjusted to busy.

And for about 10 years, our neighborhoods were clean, civil, and vibrant.

Then things got really bad with crimes and drugs.

People were really upset and afraid, made loud appeals to the city government to address the crime situation.

But nothing was improved and crime continued.

Those who spoke the loudest lost hope and moved away.

Many were pillars in our community.

Now today, those of us who are in our 70s and 80s, who stayed in the North Main Street area in spite of continued blight, continue to appeal for change and improvement in our area.

We attend meetings regularly, we sacrifice personal time, we do hard work in community cleanups, and we form petitions, believing that somehow it will make a difference, but it hasn't.

As elderly citizens, we know we are regarded as unrealistic sometimes, and that we're living in the past.

But as long as we are here, we will hold our city government accountable.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ms.

Humphrey.

Name and address for the record.

Good evening.

Fourth Amendment to the Constitution provides protection from unreasonable search and seizure.

Contrary to the American media, Maduros was elected president, elected president by the Venezuelan people on July 29th, 2024.

The visit Venezuelan presidential term of office is six years.

That was his motivation.

So what is the to stop ICE agents to tell me you look like you're a Somali because they want to put me in a full profit prison.

And it doesn't matter to them whether I'm a citizen of this country or not.

So that is an issue.

And I think that it needs to be dealt with.

And the Dayton police chief needs to have a plan that he tells the public what he is going to do and instruct his officers to do to protect its citizens and residents from these rogue ICE agents.

This needs to be addressed.

And I would like to hear answers.

My questions are not rhetorical, and this is a serious issue.

For me, especially and my children, because we have African names, and they could say very easily, these aren't citizens, and my driver's license does not say that I'm a citizen.

Only where I live.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Wattenza.

Thank you for bringing that before us.

Ms.

Lofton, if we may, could we please call uh Lieutenant Colonel Henderson up to speak to that very briefly, if that's fair.

Sure.

Thank you, sir.

Good evening, uh Mayor, Commissioners, uh Deputy City Manager, Ms.

McClendon.

Um, I understand the question.

Yes, sir.

Um, as stated.

So what we have to keep in mind is that um under the US and United States Constitution, there is a U.S.

Supremacy Clause.

So under federal authority, we have no control over federal agents.

So if we're called to a scene where ICE is there, if we show up, we can stand by and ensure, you know, basically try to protect the the rights of everyone that's there, but we have no authority over those ICE agents.

But what I can say is I think we've demonstrated for many years that you know the city of Dayton um is a welcoming community.

Um we support um the right of individuals that are here doing the right thing.

Um one of the things we do, we do not ask victims of crimes, um their uh their citizenship or anything.

We want to make sure that anyone that is a member of our community feels safe if they're a victim of a crime to contact um the Dayton Police Department.

We will respond and conduct a criminal investigation based upon what's being reported to us.

So um I think that's the most important thing.

Um I understand you know I'm I'm privy to everything that's going on, but I can assure you that you know we're we're here to ensure that we're protecting the rights of our citizens.

Thank you, sir.

I appreciate it.

Thank you, Ms.

Lofton.

Ms.

McLinden.

I call to the podium Greg West.

Greg, Greg West 1320 Kingsley Avenue.

Um Good evening.

Good evening.

I'm coming to address these this evening.

Um it's that time of year again where we're doing our recruiting for um apprenticeship programs, especially for the CEMA Masons, where I'm starting classes next month.

So anybody who's looking for a career with livable wages, please get with me.

Um they can reach me um at 937 um 280-5444.

But also, I'm also speaking on the same thing, but uh it's with a partnership with Felons What the Future has with uh Wesley Community Center where we're starting up um uh training course for people so that we can hand do a soft handoff to these apprenticeship programs where they go through uh you know little courses that we have for electrical concrete and some general construction right now.

Um the flyer wasn't done, that's why I didn't bring it down that way.

We can get it to you, everybody.

But if you go up there to Wesley at 3730 Delphus and ask for Paula Thornton, she can give you the information, or you can also call that number for um that I gave at the beginning, 937-27.

I mean 280.

I almost gave my home number.

937 uh 280544.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

West.

I call to the podium Veronica White.

Hello, good afternoon.

My name is Veronica White.

I stay at 250 Allen Street, Apartment W 119.

And I have a problem that's been going on since 2023.

I've been staying there, they've been going in my house, taking my stuff, doing all kinds of stuff.

I've been calling the police.

None of them make call police reports.

The last one was on the 17th, and I called the police.

He did not make a polished report.

If he doesn't make a police report, I can't take any other action.

And it's been going on for a long time.

They call in People House Take Day Fool.

The last day on the what is this?

On the 9th of this month, I filed, I filed something with the um discrimination people.

I filed something with the um I filed something with the city.

I filed everything.

If we don't do something about these people that's coming to our country and we scatter them, we're not gonna have a country.

But this is you have to have 24-hour notice to enter somebody's house.

And I go to work, I work on I work on the base.

I'm the exchange union rep.

I can't even go to work without them coming in my house taking stuff.

And every time I call the police, no police report.

If if the police are scared of the people that's coming in our country, they need not to be the police.

I'm I'm just saying, if you scared of them, then we need to we we need to do something else.

And if you're not scared of them, then uphold the law like you took, like you said you would hold the law because can I do now?

There's nothing that I can do if they don't make police reports.

I have spoken to this gentleman right here.

I'm gonna see if he's gonna follow up, but we need to investigate what's going on in that building.

And that's all I want to say.

So somebody please give me a call.

Thank you.

Have a nice day.

Thank you, Ms.

White.

And you're correct, um, Ms.

White, and having a conversation with Lieutenant Carnot Henderson, he will be able to help you, Ms.

Lofton.

We'll make sure that you we get additional information and then we'll um be able to assist you after the meeting.

So if you just want to get no help, I'll come back to see.

Yes, ma'am.

Yes, ma'am.

Thank you, Ms.

White.

Ms.

McClendon.

That is all, Your Honor.

Thank you, Ms.

McClendon.

Ms.

Lofton, do you have any closing comments this evening?

I have none.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ms.

Lofton.

Ms.

McClendon, do you have any closing comments?

I have none, Your Honor.

Thank you.

Commissioners, do you have any closing comments?

Commissioner Beckham.

I just want to thank all the well, thank you, Mayor.

Um, just want to thank all the residents who uh came out to speak tonight.

Uh again, appreciate your concerns and comments.

Um as it relates to um uh the uh budget resolution, certainly uh excited to see the funding for the violence intervention, uh the first year of it at least.

Um I think that work is gonna be vital uh in making sure that our city becomes uh safer, especially in the neighborhoods where uh we need to support.

Um and in addition to that, uh the group that was formed and uh uh focused on downtown uh right uh you know I I genuinely believe uh these are proactive steps uh to ensure uh that we continue to uh take the necessary measures uh as it relates to um you know potential incidents downtown, but I want to reiterate my uh commitment that uh we have to continue to make our entire city safer, uh which is why I'm so happy to see the violence intervention funding uh in this current uh in the proposed budget at least.

Uh and there's been no money allocated for the uh recommendations that uh the Congressman Turner group made.

Uh these are purely recommendations.

Uh they were accepted by this commission, and uh we'll certainly review those moving forward.

So uh that's all for me.

Thank you, ma'am.

Thank you, Commissioner.

Commissioner Fairchild.

Yeah, thank you.

Um wanna encourage people to come out, even in the cold.

Uh silos tomorrow evening is hosting a special event with Culture Works from 5 to 8 p.m.

And besides the good food that's available at the food hall, there'll be uh raffles and um prize drawings and live art experience for everyone who comes to support art organizations and artists throughout Dayton.

And if you're not familiar with silos, it's on First Street near the uh Kiwi intersection, just a little bit uh west of Kiwi.

So encourage you to come there.

Um I do want to thank um Anthony Whitmore and the MLK Inc.

leaders for all the events they do to commemorate the Martin Luther King holiday and for our city staff who are out there to keep citizens safe, particularly um on Monday morning during the walk.

Um the holiday, particularly as we did the march and uh going up over Third Street.

It's always a bit of a challenge for me to get up over the bridge because it's quite steep, and so it you have to work and you have to think and makes you grateful for those uh leaders in the civil rights movements and throughout our nation's history who have um nonviolently worked to bring us to a more perfect union, you know, and who put their lives on the line and uh in ways to protect the rights of everyone and to um help us live into the ideals, even when we've had a history of not living into those ideals, and to move us from injustice to a more just society.

And I couldn't help but think on that day that we are in a in a very fragile moment.

Democracies are um few, they're fragile, and they're typically short-lived.

And I think we can see examples across our country where many places of um the foundations that make democracy work, and ultimately at the foundation of that is our relationships with one another.

I mean, as citizens, we need to trust one another to be able to go forward and seeing examples across the nation where that's not being uh the foundations are weakening.

Um I hope the MLK um legacy uh inspires us to pick up the mantle uh to carry on that work.

Um I think there's examples where constitutional rights are um being ignored.

Mr.

Wontenza, thank you for talking about the Fourth Amendment rights, and we see um examples where the Fourth Amendment right is not being uh protected and upheld.

Um troubling, particularly on the MLK day is reports that there are executive orders and homeland security policies that are defining nonviolent protests, our First Amendment rights as criminal, as terrorist activities, which is in um creating the space to have violent response to people who would go dare exercise their First Amendment rights.

And so in a culture in our society where we're seeing, you know, uh a threat to the constitutional rights, um, the avoidance of due process, the erosion of checks and balances, and um it's a time where we need to pick up that mantle of that king legacy and of all those um leaders who have come before who have really protected the society and this experiment and self-government.

And so I hope that it's a not only is it a reminder but a catalyst for us to work together to talk with one another, to talk about what kind of nation we want to be and um and then to live into that and to um live into that example into the King legacy.

So uh I want to be at work alongside you on those on those things, and uh it starts here, but it goes beyond us.

Um we need to hold all elected officials accountable.

We all take an oath to defend the Constitution.

Um people I believe are not abiding by that oath.

Um we have a what I believe is a dereliction of duty in our Congress to be that check and balance, and so um there's work for us to do, and I look forward to doing it with you.

Thank you, Commissioner.

Thank you.

Commissioner Joseph.

Thank you, Mayor.

Uh, thank you, Commissioner, for your excellent remarks there.

Uh two things today.

First, I want to congratulate the City of Dayton and our staff on earning silver level Bloomberg Philanthropy's What Works Cities Certification, which recognizes our use of data to inform policy, improve services, and deliver measurable results for residents.

Uh they mentioned specifically innovative efforts like our mediation response unit, which has resolved 98% of more than 7200 nonviolent 911 calls without police involvement since 2022.

Really excellent work and really groundbreaking work.

Uh, if you want to read the full certification, go to what works cities.

Bloomberg.org.

And you can see a whole list of uh the cities they've honored, including us.

Congratulations.

Second, I want to specifically thank uh all the city employees who not only worked on Monday and but those who showed up to the events.

There were a ton of folks walking, we walked with.

It was great to see people come out on a day where they could be sleeping in, especially since it was cold.

So I want to thank all the city employees that took part in the MLK events.

And finally, I want to thank uh Ms.

Humphrey who is here.

Uh she has been a warrior along North Bank Corridor for many years, predating my terms uh here on Commission.

I've learned a lot from her.

Uh and I just want to say that uh this commission has heard folks on North Main what they've said, and we've tried over the years to make a dent in what have been some pretty big problems.

For instance, we probably have demolished more derelict homes along the North Main corridor than anywhere else in the city.

Uh we have reconstructed the streets so as to slow down traffic in response to their concerns.

Uh but the changes that we want to make up there, they're not going to happen overnight.

The problems have been too deep and they've been too long in the making.

So I if she was here, I would reassure her that we're still trying.

We haven't forgotten, and this commission is united and wanting to help them up there.

So we'll continue our work.

And uh it's great to see her, and she's been a dedicated, dedicated public servant for many years.

So that's all I have.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Commissioners.

Um, I just wanted to put stomp on and echo all of my colleagues and their their comments.

Um, you all in terms of the work that's being done with the Cure of Violence Initiative to answer the call and the and to address the concerns from Ms.

Humphrey.

Um, Felons with the Future were in fact awarded that uh that uh proposal or that that initiative, that grant to do that work on the North North Main Street corridor.

So the work is in fact being done.

So thank you for highlighting that.

And then also, too, uh to Commissioner Beckham's point, um, and Ms.

Call, I know that you raised this of concern that those recommendations from the Congressman's office are just that their recommendations, the staff, the city manager staff, um, the office in its entirety, they are vetting those recommendations.

There is no funding that has been allocated to those recommendations.

But keep in mind too that this is an opportunity for us to use it as Commissioner Fairchild um communicated last week as a model for what's to come in some of our other neighborhoods and all 60 65 neighborhoods.

So again, that work is being done, and those are recommendations.

So thank you, Mr.

Moore, for being here this evening.

Again, we'll follow up and find more information out about that particular site.

Uh, Ms.

Galtz, again, and I look forward to reviewing those recommendations.

And I don't don't know if you were here last week, but in regards to the next steps for the public hospital, so we're vetting that process.

We're having conversations about that as well.

And you're right, Mr.

Mesto.

He he did an excellent job, uh, Mr.

Mesto and Ms.

Dosig and giving us a high-level review as to what the next steps are in that process.

Uh Ms.

Woods, thank you for being here.

Mr.

Karen, thank you for providing the the data.

And if I'm not mistaken, there are some recommendations from staff, and so we'll be going through those recommendations as to what the next steps are.

And I know Ms.

Lofton is going to help us along that way.

Uh and as mentioned, Ms.

Humphrey, thank you for being here.

I believe Ms.

Jackson was able to reassure her, as Commissioner Joseph has already mentioned that we are definitely uh not losing sight of the job.

We know the concerns, and we're working diligently and hopefully and prayerfully we will see a lot of that work come into fruition um this spring or summer.

But again, it's not nothing that would take place overnight.

Um, but we are definitely rolling up our sleeves and doing the the necessary work.

Uh Mr.

Watenza, thank you for being here.

Thank you for your comments.

And Mr.

West, I look forward to that additional information so that we can make sure that we get that out to our various partners.

Um I'm glad that you are here so that you can make sure that you share with everyone later on perhaps the conversation for you and Ms.

Humphreys to have.

And I'm sure we will have an opportunity where we can update the community on the next steps and where we are in the process for the care of violence initiative.

So thank you, Commissioner Beckham, for helping and leading that charge.

Uh Ms.

White.

Uh hopefully we have our information so we can follow up with Ms.

White in regards to her concerns that she has as well.

As mentioned, uplifting the work of Dr.

Whitmore, Dr.

Greenley, Reverend Dr.

Cunningham.

The list goes on and on.

And so I will stop so I would not forget anyone's name.

Um, but again, just an a number of uh well-attended um events that took place, uh, the staff, thank you all for coming out this past weekend.

Um the banquet was well attended.

Uh, we had people come from Cincinnati, near and far.

A number of folks came in town to participate.

Um so again, we really appreciate the work of Dr.

Whitmore and the MLK and organization and all the great work that they do along with uh Marlon Shakafor, Amaha Salasi, and uh organizing and leading the charge and double ACP Dr.

Forward uh for the actual march itself.

Um couple of things I do want to mention very briefly back to basics for teens.

This is a great program.

Um it starts Thursday, January the 22nd through February the 26th, 5 30 p.m.

to 7 30 p.m.

Low Rye Recreation Center.

Um, and so I'm actually gonna sign my son up for this event.

Uh it's free.

You must register.

Participants will learn how to manage money, stress imbalance, job ready skills, adulting 101, first aid basics public speaking.

For more information, please call 333 3067.

Again, that's 333067.

Another great program brought to you our Dayton residents by our Department of Recreation Services.

They do a great job.

And then also local food Tuesday, February the 17th from 11 a.m.

to 12 p.m.

Low Rye Recreation Center.

Uh, local food is fresh and healthy.

Uh sustainability.

This is right up your alley, Commissioner.

Learning this uh the the circle of sustainability.

So we encourage people to come out again on Tuesday, February the 17th.

And again, this information is readily available on the city's website.

Tax season is underway.

Thank you, Ms.

Reed.

Uh, we want all residents to participate in the free VIDA tax preparation uh program.

Sites will be open from January 24th through April the 15th.

Uh locations and hours vary, and some sites actually require appointments.

And then also we want to highlight super refund Saturday, which is on Saturday, February the 7th from 9 a.m.

to 3 p.m.

at the Job Center, located at 1111 South Edwin C.

Moses Boulevard.

Uh, and it's again it's completely free tax preparation.

Uh, you can call 937-913-2000.

Again, that's 937 913 2000.

And please um spread the word and make sure that you sign up to have your taxes prepared and with no further business to come before the commission.

This meeting is now in adjourned.