Dayton City Commission Presentation on First Citizens' Assembly – March 11, 2026

City staff and external partners presented a proposal for Dayton's first citizens' assembly to the City Commission. The meeting focused on the concept, process, and topic selection for the assembly, with extensive discussion among commissioners about feasibility, trust, and arms-length governance. No formal votes were taken.

Discussion Items

• Introduction to Citizens' Assembly: Barb Dosek (Director of Law) and Mike Squire (Community Engagement) introduced the team and partners—including the Kettering Foundation, Ohio State University, Unify America, and the Federation for Innovation and Democracy North America (FIDA)—who will support the assembly.
• Process Overview: Marjan Ahasi (FIDA) explained the foundations of a citizens' assembly: a clear mandate, civic lottery (sortition) for representative selection, and a three-phase process (learning, deliberation, proposal writing). A deliberative town hall will follow the assembly to validate recommendations.
• Topic Selection: Amy Lee (Ohio State) presented results from a resident survey, a November 2024 ballot initiative on the public hospital, and a focus group of 15 residents who seldom attend city meetings. Three topics emerged: neighborhood blight, youth programming, and the public hospital. The advisory board recommended the public hospital because it is a timely, complex issue where deliberative input could have the most impact, and because the city is legally required to act on it.
• Commissioners' Questions and Concerns:
  • Commissioner Shaw questioned how trust would be built on the hospital topic, given that citizens had little prior knowledge, and noted previous engagement on neighborhoods and youth had not led to concrete action.
  • Commissioner Joseph raised concerns about the narrowness of the legal options for the hospital (city-run vs. outsourced to a nonprofit) and whether the assembly would feel constrained.
  • Commissioner Shaw also worried about the city's paid feasibility study for a 300-bed hospital being perceived as biased; she asked how education would be balanced.
  • Commissioner Timothy stressed the importance of arms-length separation between the city and the assembly, and asked how to ensure authenticity of recommendations.
  • Commissioner Williams asked about best practices for having city staff (like the law director) on the advisory board, noting potential perception issues.
• Partner Responses: The team emphasized that the steering committee includes non-city co-chairs, the learning phase will involve diverse experts and stakeholders (not just the city's report), and the assembly is non-binding but will receive a formal city response. The deliberative town hall after the assembly will help validate findings.
• Timeline: The citizens' assembly will meet on five Saturdays from May 2 to June 20, 2026 (May 2, May 16, June 6, June 13, June 20). The deliberative town hall is planned for August or September, with recommendations to the commission later.

Key Outcomes

• No formal decision was made on the topic; commissioners expressed support for moving forward with the public hospital as the recommended topic, but with reservations about perceived constraints and trust.
• The commission acknowledged the value of the process and asked for continued updates. No votes were taken.
• Next steps include finalizing the assembly's mandate (remit) and launching the civic lottery to recruit participants.