Supporters say levy funds could help secure other partners and stakeholders for a public hospital project. They say large parts of west and northwest Dayton are a health care desert that urgently need a full-service hospital.
But opponents say the ballot proposal is highly unrealistic and $2 million in funding annually is a drop in the bucket of what’s needed to build, staff and operate a hospital. They say the coalition does not have a meaningful plan to create a new hospital.
Signature requirement
The Clergy Community Coalition submitted petitions earlier this month that contained enough valid signatures for the public hospital levy initiative to move forward and appear on the Nov. 4 ballot, said Barbara Doseck, Dayton’s law director.
The coalition tried multiple times to get the Dayton City Commission to put a 1-mill levy measure on the ballot but failed to get the support of the majority of the commission. A commission vote on July 23 led to a 2-2 tie, with one abstention, which meant the citizen initiated petition failed to muster enough votes to proceed.
But the coalition this time was able to collect enough valid signatures to bypass the city commission.
After getting 1,250 valid signatures that were turned in back in June, coalition supporters successful obtained an additional 1,250 valid signatures from other Dayton electors within a required 20-day timeframe.
The Dayton City Commission recently approved an emergency resolution declaring it necessary to levy a tax in excess of the 10-mil limitation to put a hospital levy on the ballot. The commission is expected to approve a recommendation to proceed with the ballot question next week.
The Montgomery County Auditor’s Office said the proposed levy would generate about $2 million annually at a 100% collection rate.
The auditor’s office said a 1-mill levy would cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $35 per year. The city’s collection rate was about 91% last year.
The Clergy Community Coalition was formed after the closure of Good Samaritan Hospital in northwest Dayton in 2018. Group members said the loss of Good Sam left west and northwest Dayton residents without critical health care services.
Credit: TY GREENLEES / STAFF
Credit: TY GREENLEES / STAFF
Coalition supporters say revenue from the proposed levy will provide seed funding that can help attract and secure other funding sources, possibly including state and federal grants.
Nancy Kiehl, a coalition member, last month said a hospital project would be developed over multiple years and phases. If the levy passes, she said there would be a community assessment, a feasibility study and a site selection process, and a hospital planner and architect would be hired.
“Dayton is the city of innovation,” she said last month. “Let’s innovate a public hospital together.”
City leaders have mixed views on the proposal.
Dayton City Commissioner Shenise Turner-Sloss told this news outlet that health care is a human right and she wants to see the same level of creativity and ingenuity that was used to develop the Dayton Dragons baseball stadium and redevelop the Dayton Arcade put toward responding to the needs of city residents.
“I implore people to explore the possibilities and the opportunities for health care access, economic development and job creation with this initiative,” said Turner-Sloss. “Misinformation and inaccurate information will be spread to defeat the measure, but people must ask key questions and push back on fallacies.”
Dayton Mayor Jeffrey Mims Jr., who is running for reelection against Turner-Sloss this November, said he voted to put the levy proposal on the ballot in July because he thinks residents should be in charge of deciding this issue. Turner-Sloss was the other yes vote.
But Mims said he personally believes this proposal is a bad idea. He said he thinks there are other, more attainable ways the community can try to address gaps in health care services and improve health outcomes.
Commissioner Matt Joseph said it’s unfair to get residents’ hopes up that a new hospital will be coming to West Dayton when the levy would only generate a tiny fraction of the money needed to build and operate such a facility. He said Dayton residents shouldn’t be asked to pay higher taxes for a half-baked hospital plan.
“People might vote for this because they say, ‘Yes we need a hospital,’ and they do, but then the solution this group is giving them is cruel,” he said. “It’s an incomplete solution, it’s irresponsible and I am very strongly against it. ... It just doesn’t pass the smell test.”
Commissioner Darryl Fairchild, who abstained from voting on the ballot request in July because he works for Dayton Children’s Hospital, said he is encouraged by the hard work of the Clergy Community Coalition. He said they have brought attention to the fact that access to health care is a problem that needs a solution.
“We have not done enough to remove the barriers for our neighbors in West Dayton,” he said.
Commissioner Chris Shaw opposes the public hospital levy measure. He says the proposal is misguided and will not result in a new hospital being built in West Dayton. He also said he worries that having this measure appear on the November ballot could put the Human Services levy risk.
“People are overtaxed already, and it’s totally inadequate the way they’re funding it, and there’s no plan,” Shaw said.
About the Author
