Morning Briefing | County sues Dayton water department

Montgomery County announced that it is suing the city of Dayton’s water department, alleging that they have overpaid the city as much as $14 million.

In today’s Morning Briefing, we give you the latest on what we know about the lawsuit, as well as news of layoffs at the VA and their effect on local federal agencies. We also tell you about a new traffic safety study and city plans to reduce the number of serious accidents on the roads.

If you have thoughts or feedback on this newsletter or other news tips, please let me know at Greg.Lynch@coxinc.com.

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The newsletter should take about 3 minutes, 33 seconds to read.

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Montgomery County sues Dayton city water department, alleges $14M overcharge

Montgomery County said it filed a lawsuit against the city of Dayton’s water department Friday afternoon.

• Why the lawsuit? The county said in a statement that the water department wasn’t following an agreement reached in 2018, leading to them overpaying about $14 million for water service.

• Communication breakdown: The county said that the city refused to follow protocol to contact them for reporting water costs.

• Dayton response: In statements Friday evening, city leaders denied the county’s claims, saying that they followed protocols and were disappointed by the lawsuit.

• Cost increases: The county said that if it is unable to resolve the dispute, it would have to increase water rates for its residents.

• Who does it affect? Kettering, Centerville, Riverside, Clayton and several other communities receive water from Montgomery County.

VA dismisses 1,000 probationary employees as fears of wider layoffs grow

The Department of Veterans Affairs said late Thursday evening it had dismissed more than 1,000 employees.

• Executive order: Multiple reports pointed to Trump’s signing of an executive order instructing federal agencies to prepare for widespread layoffs across government.

• Those dismissed: They included non-bargaining unit probationary employees who have served less than a year in a competitive service appointment or who have served less than two years in an excepted service appointment.

• The Dayton VA Medical Center: A spokeswoman at the Dayton VA Medical Center Friday said she was gathering information in response to questions from this news outlet. The Dayton VA Medical Center has 2,355 full-time employees.

• Southwest Ohio: Federal installations in the region contribute to more than $19 billion in regional economic activity annually and employ more than 103,000 people.

There are currently more than 43,000 probationary employees across the Department of Veterans Affairs.

50% of Dayton’s worst crashes occur on 5% of roads; city wants input on safety plan

Dayton in recent years has had hundreds of crashes that have caused serious injuries and death, but the city is working to create a safety plan to try to reduce the number of these incidents.

• New analysis: A study found that about half of deadly and serious-injury crashes in Dayton occurred on just 5% of the city’s roadway network.

• Statistics: There were 684 crashes on Dayton roadways that resulted in severe injuries or death between 2019 and 2023. Ninety-seven of the crashes were fatal. About 112 involved pedestrians; 83 involved motorcycles; and 25 involved bicycles.

• Young drivers: The data shows that young drivers (ages 15 to 25) were involved in 31% of the serious collisions in the city during the five-year study period.

• Busy streets: Many crashes have taken place along stretches of some of the city’s busiest streets and thoroughfares, like Third Street, Main Street, Gettysburg Avenue, Salem Avenue, James H. McGee Boulevard, Keowee Street and Smithville Road.

• Safety plan: Officials say the plan will analyze crash data and patterns, roadway characteristics and driver behaviors to offer recommendations for new infrastructure projects and strategies to improve safety.

The city plans to seek funding to implement at least some of the recommendations.

What to know today

• One big takeaway: Roughly 39,000 property owners across the region are paying more money on tax bills to prevent the Great Miami River from overflowing its banks.

• Dayton Flyers: Here’s what to know about today’s game against Duquesne.

• Big move of the day: Ohio moved one step closer to making the Wright brothers' Wright Flyer III the official state airplane following a unanimous Senate vote.

• Wright-Patterson Air Force Base: As employees to continue to return to offices on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the base is alerting motorists to new changes — and reminding them of previous ones.

• Dayton Food & Dining: Beyond Vision Art is bringing a dining in the dark experience to downtown Dayton that’s expected to challenge the senses.

• Stat of the day: In the span of a decade, the Dayton International Airport went from being the 80th largest commercial airport in the nation to the 126th largest.

• Worth the drive: The Muhammad Ali Center in Kentucky celebrates the life and legacy of ‘The Greatest.’

• Kings Island: Here is the latest update on their newest attraction, dueling water coaster RiverRacers.

• Vintage Dayton: How the historic Wright Library has changed over it’s 86 years.

• Photo of the day: The Vandalia Recreation Center recently hosted Sweetheart Goat Yoga with The Grazing Ground. Attendees of the yoga class cuddled with the lovable goats Monica, Ross, Rachel, and Chandler while practicing. Check out more of Tom Giliam’s photos here.