Morning Briefing | Dayton Art Institute promises financial changes

The Dayton Art Institute has announced plans to address its finances.

In today’s Morning Briefing, we tell you how the institute is responding after a Dayton Daily News investigation into the state of its finances. We also tell you about how the number of flu and other respiratory illness cases have spiked across the region in recent weeks.

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The newsletter should take about 4 minutes, 10 seconds to read.

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Dayton Art Institute promises changes as it budgets for the future

The Dayton Art Institute announces new plans after a Dayton Daily News investigation of the museum’s struggling finances.

• The investigation: The Dayton Daily News found that the museum has been in the red for five years, it recorded several millions of dollars in losses those years, its board of trustees gave two of its executives salary increases of up to 80% the year after it saw a $2 million loss in revenue and it reported different revenue numbers on its community report and its federal 990 tax form in at least two recent years.

• Letter to members: In a letter sent Sunday to its members, the Dayton Art Institute’s board chair outlined plans to decrease pay for its top executive, change its financial reporting schedule and continue to look for cost savings.

“Operating the historic building and aligned programming is simply not sustainable for the future without the support of the individuals and corporations in the community,” said Daniel Davis, chair of the Dayton Art Institute’s Board of Trustees, in the letter.

• 2025 budget: Museum executives say the 2025 budget is $4.5 million less than its 2024 budget after several employee and expense cuts.

• Salary cuts: Salaries for Michael Roediger, director and CEO of the Dayton Art Institute, and Jerry Smith, chief curator, increased by 71% and 93%, respectively, from 2019 to 2023, according to tax forms. The institute now plans to reduce the director’s salary by 20% among reductions to other positions across the organization.

• Annual reports: To resolve future discrepancies between the institute’s community reports and its tax forms, the institute is moving its annual meeting until after the completion of its regular audit, said Davis.

• Reassurances for the future: The Dayton Art Institute’s board reiterated that programming and services for patrons will remain intact, saying those were “the anchor of reduction decisions.”

Feeling sick? You’re not alone. Respiratory illnesses pick up as Ohio hospitals fill beds

Ohio is seeing a resurgence of influenza in recent weeks as hospitals in the Dayton region are reporting long wait times for their emergency rooms.

• Illnesses pick up: Butler, Clark and Montgomery counties are seeing an uptick in respiratory illnesses, including the flu.

• Recent data: There has been a 24.6% increase in flu-related hospitalizations with 730 new hospitalizations reported statewide. Hospitals locally and throughout Ohio are filling more than 70% of inpatient and ICU beds.

• Hospital wait times: Miami Valley Hospital has seen significant wait times for its ER, according to its website, which has shown recent wait times up to more than two hours. Kettering Health hospitals have shown wait times anywhere from 20 minutes to more than an hour and a half.

• What else can patients do? Kettering Health is telling people they can also visit a primary care provider or a Kettering Health On-Demand Care location for testing or mild symptoms such as congestion, cough or low-grade fever.

What to know today

• One big takeaway: Hotel Ardent, a new 118-room hotel, has opened in downtown Dayton very close to the city’s large performing arts centers and other key destinations.

• Tip of the day: Kings Island has announced plans to employ more than 5,000 workers during its seasonal period.

• Person to know today: Skip Erhardt. He’s the man behind a new model train room and club at Bethany Village in Washington Twp.

• Big move of the day: VTG, a Chantilly, Va.-based national security company that acquired a Beavercreek company last year, is celebrating a hefty new defense contract.

• Dayton Food & Dining: More Than A Apron in Miamisburg is rebranding to D’s Birria and More and has plans to expand via food truck and hopefully a new restaurant space early next year.

• Stat of the day: Ohio State football coach Ryan Day has another new contract coming. Day and the university have agreed in principle on a new seven-year contract valued at $12.5 million annually.

• Thing to do: Super Bowl LIX takes place Sunday. Here is a guide to a number of game-related events in the Dayton area.