We write to city leaders as concerned residents and community stakeholders calling for the firing of City Manager Shelly Dickstein. This call is not rooted in personal grievance, but in a fundamental concern about governance — specifically, a consistent lack of transparency in decision-making at the highest levels of city administration.

Most recently, the process for selecting Dayton’s next Chief of Police has underscored these concerns. Despite a clear and public call from Mayor Shenise Turner-Sloss for an open and transparent process — one that would include community input and reflect the gravity of this decision — the city manager proceeded with a largely closed process. This decision effectively sidelined both the spirit of public engagement and the role of elected leadership in setting the vision for the city.

 
The issue here is not about any individual candidate for the position. It is about the process and attracting a candidate with a strong track record of constitutional policing. Transparency is not optional in matters of public trust — especially when it comes to policing, where prior incidents involving the Dayton Police Department have already resulted in lawsuits, financial settlements, and the involvement of the U.S. Department of Justice. These events have placed a clear responsibility on city leadership to rebuild trust through openness, accountability, and community engagement.

Additionally, we are concerned by the broader pattern of limited visible oversight. The city manager was recently awarded a significant raise without a publicly documented, standard performance evaluation. At the same time, the City of Dayton is managing substantial public investments, including hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure funding, which will be distributed through public contracts.

Ohio law requires competitive bidding processes and good faith efforts to include minority-owned, women-owned, and small business enterprises. Dayton’s own Procurement Enhancement Program (PEP) was established to support these goals. Yet, without transparent processes and clear communication, the public is left without confidence that these standards are being meaningfully upheld.

While we recognize that the city manager serves at the pleasure of the Commission, and that each of you has been elected by the people of Dayton, that structure only works when accountability is actively exercised. Transparency is the mechanism through which the public can see that accountability is real — not just procedural. At this very moment, that confidence has been undermined.

 
For these reasons, we demand the immediate firing of City Manager Shelly Dickstein. We also call on the Commission to recommit to transparent governance practices, including open processes for major leadership decisions, clear and public performance evaluations, and meaningful community engagement in matters that directly impact public trust.

The people of Dayton deserve a government that is not only efficient, but accountable and transparent in both action and process. We demand that city leaders take this matter seriously and act in the best interest of the city and its residents.