Dayton City Councilors rejected a motion to put a tax levy on the November ballot that supporters hoped would have helped fund a new public hospital in West Dayton.

“The proposal presented to us is inadequate,” said Dayton City Councilman Chris Shaw, who voted against the proposal. “I just find it very difficult to support a proposal that is clearly not sustainable.”

The Clergy Community Coalition led the signature collection for the ballot bill, with the goal of generating tax dollars that would ultimately be used to build a public hospital in West Dayton.

Shaw also claimed that the project “could theoretically bankrupt this city and this community and slow the economic development that would make us all prosperous.”

The proposed tax levy would have raised approximately
$2 million. Opponents argue that this is not enough to finance the construction and operation of a public hospital. During the council meeting on Wednesday, consulting firm Woolpert reported that a new health facility would cost around $39 million per year.

On August 7, the City Commission rejected the request. Mayor Jeffrey Mims Jr. and Commissioners Matt Joseph and Chris Shaw did not cast a vote.

Commissioner Shenise Turner Sloss supported the measure. Commissioner Darryl Fairchild abstained, citing a possible ethics violation because he works at Dayton Children’s Hospital, a potential competitor to a new health facility.

Bishop Richard Cox, chairman of the Clergy Community Coalition, said the council had behaved like bureaucrats.

“I think they have no backbone,” he said.

The coalition did not have enough valid signatures from registered voters. The City Commission could have still voted to put the measure on the November ballot, but declined to do so.

“After my team’s analysis, we came up with 874 valid signatures,” said Jeff Rezabeck, director of the Montgomery County Board of Election.

The coalition needed 1,250 valid signatures to put the proposed property tax levy on the November ballot. Rezabeck said problems arose because people signed the petition multiple times, others were not registered to vote and many were not Dayton residents.

“We believe part of Harrison Township was affected. Many consider themselves part of the city of Dayton,” Rezabeck said. “But they are individuals from Harrison Township. So they are not part of the city of Dayton.”

Other opponents argue that Dayton already has a variety of health resources that its population can access. Resident Mike Schommer agrees.

“The Five Rivers Health Center was just built in Miami Chapel,” he said. “So there are opportunities for health care in the city of Dayton. The question is, are they aware of them and are they taking advantage of those opportunities?”

After Premier Health closed Good Samaritan Hospital, the health network later opened a new medical facility at the site with services such as urgent care, physical therapy, imaging and more.

Others called on the Dayton City Council to put the bill on the ballot and let voters decide its fate.

“People who are not healthy cannot contribute to society. They are not able to do the work we need to do and often they even die because of it. So we can do something about it.” said family doctor Dr. Matthew Noordsij-Jones.

“Our for-profit and non-profit hospitals showcase magnificent landscaping, fund music, art and theater, pay paltry salaries and then bonuses to administrators,” said Charlene Bailes. “Hospitals have failed the health of those who cannot pay. Please, City of Dayton, join in the work of getting them care.”

“If one aspect or one area of ​​the city is in trouble, the whole city is in trouble. We can’t just be left to our own devices,” said the Rev. Rockney Carter, who leads a congregation at Zion Baptist Church on Earlham Drive in West Dayton. “Find a way to provide adequate health care to the citizens of West Dayton. You have an obligation. We have to find every possible way to make that happen, and it’s doable.”

Cox said the coalition will now work with the Montgomery County Board of Elections to collect new valid signatures and resubmit their petition to the Dayton City Council next spring. “You will see us again, we will not stop, we are fighting for the poor, for the needy, we are fighting for the excluded, for the incarcerated, the underprivileged and those who need healthcare,” Cox claims.