Advocates press commission to fund housing trust and support public hospital ballot measure (Issue 9)

Multiple speakers on Sept. 10 urged the commission to make Daytons housing trust fund a funded program, to allocate local funding for urgent repairs, tenant relocation and legal aid, and to support a public hospital ballot measure (Issue 9) on the Nov. 4, 2025 ballot.

Why it matters: Speakers argued that an active, funded housing trust fund would provide immediate tools for healthy‑homes repairs, emergency tenant relocation, and legal services for tenants; advocates said the local public hospital ballot measure would expand access to care where closures have reduced capacity.

Charlene Bayless urged voters to support Issue 9, which she described as a public hospital measure with a homeowner cost example of $35 per year per $100,000 of home value and a ballot date of Nov. 4, 2025. Larry Hayden and Destiny Brown of the Dayton Tenant Union urged the commission to dedicate local dollars to the housing trust fund and to leverage state and federal resources; Hayden emphasized that the trust fund currently exists only "on paper" without a dollar amount and that funding could be used for urgent repairs and legal aid. Brown tied housing demands to broader concerns about downtown development priorities, policing spending and health outcomes for marginalized residents.

Commission response: Commissioners acknowledged testimony. Commissioner Turner noted the housing trust fund and tenant concerns and said city staff will continue to engage with advocates; no formal budgetary commitment or ordinance to fund the trust fund was recorded at the Sept. 10 meeting.

Next steps: Advocates urged the commission to attach a dollar amount to the housing trust fund in upcoming budget decisions and to publicly support Issue 9; commissioners and staff said they would continue conversations with community groups.