OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Dayton City Commission Meeting – April 8, 2026: Budget, Police Accountability, and Community Events

City Commission — Wednesday, April 8, 2026
BodyDayton, Ohio
SessionCity Commission
DateWednesday, April 8, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:04:07

Transcript — Verbatim
0:06

The Dayton City Commission meeting will now come to order.

0:09

Would you all please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance?

0:13

And this morning invocation will be given by Commissioner Shaw.

0:18

Dear Lord.

0:20

May we make a difference in this world.

0:23

Help us to keep focused on what is pure and right.

0:26

Let us have hearts of thankfulness.

0:29

Amen.

0:29

Amen.

0:30

Amen.

0:36

And to the republic.

0:39

One nation on your individual liberty and this for all.

0:51

All right, Miss McClendon, may we please have a roll call this morning.

0:55

Mayor Turner Sloss.

0:56

Aye.

0:57

Commissioners Joseph.

0:59

Shaw.

1:00

Fairchild.

1:01

Aye.

1:01

Beckham.

1:02

Aye.

1:03

May I have a motion to approve the minutes of the April 1st, 2026 meeting, please.

1:08

So moved, John.

1:09

Second motion, Your Honor.

1:10

It has been properly moved and seconded to approve the April 1st, 2026 meeting.

1:16

All in favor say aye.

1:17

Aye.

1:17

All opposed say no.

1:19

Ms.

1:19

McClendon, are there any communications or petitions this morning?

1:23

There are none, Your Honor.

1:25

All right.

1:26

This morning I would like to call Marcy Walker to the podium to present an update on the Living City Project.

1:34

A very exciting time.

1:36

Thank you.

1:38

Good morning.

1:39

Good morning.

1:40

So glad to be here today.

1:41

Thank you, Berletta, for inviting us out.

1:44

Um my name is Marcy Walker.

1:46

This is Stefan Watts.

1:47

We are part of the Living City Project team.

1:50

This is the annual citywide cleanup that we host.

1:52

And this is our sixth year hosting this cleanup.

1:55

We have around 30 neighborhoods that will be participating to help clean up do a the largest one day cleanup in the city of Dayton.

2:02

And we want to invite everyone out to come and participate.

2:04

This will be on Saturday, April the 25th from 9 to noon.

2:09

Um you can register at Living City Project.org or you can simply show up.

2:13

But we would love for people to come and register.

2:15

We have three different after party site locations where if you are not signed up, you can go and we can uh put you somewhere.

2:23

That'll be at Revival Center for West Dayton.

2:26

It will be at East Dayton Fellowship for East Dayton and then the library in old North Dayton if you are in the North Dayton area.

2:33

Uh if you have any questions, again, LivingCity Project.org or you can email me at M Walker at the Clare.org.

2:39

And we are just so excited to be bringing this to the City of Dayton once again.

2:43

It's a great opportunity for the community to take pride in cleaning up our neighborhood together, but also to get to know your neighbors as we do something good for the city.

2:52

Thank you.

2:53

Thank you.

2:54

Uh wait, excuse me, Ms.

2:55

Watkins.

2:56

Uh the do any of the commissioners have any comments or anything they would like to share this morning.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Police Accountability███████████████████████████████████████39%
Procedural████████████████████20%
Arts And Culture█████████████13%
Community Engagement████████8%
Housing█████5%
Parks and Recreation█████5%
Housing Abandonment███3%
Engineering And Infrastructure██2%
Racial Equity██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Dayton City Commission Meeting – April 8, 2026

The Dayton City Commission meeting on April 8, 2026, included presentations on the Living City Project cleanup and National Poetry Month, approvals of routine ordinances and resolutions, and extensive public comment and commission discussion regarding police accountability, neighborhood services, and development issues.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved minutes of the April 1, 2026 meeting.
  • Approved the city manager's recommendations (including a contract for East Third Street improvements and grant acceptance for first responder wellness) unanimously (5-0).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Lynn Lamance (1061 Bertram Ave.) called for removal of police ammunition funding, redirection to tasers and chargers; demanded release of body cam footage, independent investigations of recent police shootings; asked the commission not to appoint certain individuals (SETI, Paul Saunders, Kyle Thomas, Henderson) as police chief; requested removal of Joe Parlett and Shelley Dixtein for better city leadership.
  • Carlos Buford (2130 Della Drive, Dayton) urged constitutional policing, mandatory de-escalation training, proportional response in low-level encounters, and stressed the disconnect between officers and communities.
  • Reverend Kelly Kelly (515 E. Third St., representing Miami Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship) called for immediate release of all video footage, accountability for officers involved in the Reginald Thomas shooting, creation of a civilian review board with subpoena power, and investment in community-based resources.
  • Zakya Sankara Jabbar (18 Farm Crest Court, Silver Spring, MD) criticized the city administration for lack of police accountability, asking for removal of the city manager and assistant city manager, and stated that black men continue to be killed without recourse.
  • Dan Barton (338 Central Ave., Grafton Hill) requested that Planned Development 179 be set aside and reviewed due to lack of required site and structural plans during the approval process.

Discussion Items

  • Living City Project: Marcy Walker and Stefan Watts presented the 6th annual citywide cleanup on April 25, 9 a.m.–noon, with after-party sites at Revival Center (West Dayton), East Dayton Fellowship, and the Old North Dayton library. Commissioners expressed support and encouraged year-round cleanup efforts.
  • National Poetry Month: Inaugural Poet Laureate Sierra Leone read a poem and discussed upcoming events. Commissioners celebrated poetry and literacy, with Commissioner Fairchild suggesting six-word poems for the city.
  • Police Accountability: Following public comments, Commissioner Fairchild requested a work session update with police in May. City Manager Joe Parlett stated the professional standards review for the Brian Moody shooting was completed in fall 2025, but such reports are not typically shared publicly. Commissioners discussed the Internal Accountability Audit (IAA) process and committed to finding a way to release the findings to the public to rebuild trust. Mayor reaffirmed commitment to transparency and the IAA process.
  • Development Issues: Commissioner Fairchild asked about a crosswalk on East Third Street between Kiwi and Lyndon; staff promised follow-up. Regarding P.D. 179, Mayor acknowledged the issue and promised to coordinate with the city manager.

Key Outcomes

  • Unanimous approval of consent agenda, minutes, and all legislation: ordinance for street vacation, zoning change, acceptance of $70,000 donation from St. Ann's Hill Historical Society, and acceptance of $64,050 grant for first responder mental wellness.
  • Commitment to explore public release of the Brian Moody full review and body camera footage.
  • Mayor stated she will personally meet with community members following the meeting to address concerns.
  • Work session on economic and community development initiatives to follow immediately.

Closing Comments

  • Commissioners announced upcoming community events: Summer camp registration, youth training program, the Urban League SOAR program, ECDI loan opportunities, and Edgemont Solar Garden spring plant sale.

Meeting Transcript

The Dayton City Commission meeting will now come to order. Would you all please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance? And this morning invocation will be given by Commissioner Shaw. Dear Lord. May we make a difference in this world. Help us to keep focused on what is pure and right. Let us have hearts of thankfulness. Amen. Amen. Amen. And to the republic. One nation on your individual liberty and this for all. All right, Miss McClendon, may we please have a roll call this morning. Mayor Turner Sloss. Aye. Commissioners Joseph. Shaw. Fairchild. Aye. Beckham. Aye. May I have a motion to approve the minutes of the April 1st, 2026 meeting, please. So moved, John. Second motion, Your Honor. It has been properly moved and seconded to approve the April 1st, 2026 meeting. All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed say no. Ms. McClendon, are there any communications or petitions this morning? There are none, Your Honor. All right. This morning I would like to call Marcy Walker to the podium to present an update on the Living City Project. A very exciting time. Thank you. Good morning. Good morning. So glad to be here today. Thank you, Berletta, for inviting us out. Um my name is Marcy Walker. This is Stefan Watts. We are part of the Living City Project team. This is the annual citywide cleanup that we host. And this is our sixth year hosting this cleanup. We have around 30 neighborhoods that will be participating to help clean up do a the largest one day cleanup in the city of Dayton. And we want to invite everyone out to come and participate. This will be on Saturday, April the 25th from 9 to noon. Um you can register at Living City Project.org or you can simply show up. But we would love for people to come and register. We have three different after party site locations where if you are not signed up, you can go and we can uh put you somewhere.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com