McLin has been Dayton's mayor for the last four years. Bohardt is chief executive of the Homebuilders Association of Dayton and the Miami Valley.

McLin said good fiscal stewardship has allowed the city to weather dismal economic times without layoffs. The city cut 300 jobs through attrition but still provides services and meets emergency response-time standards, she said.

She said finding the money to add the 40 new police officers Bohardt advocates would mean asking citizens to choose what they want to do without, whether that would be trash pick-up, boarding and demolishing vacant houses, or housing inspection.

Bohardt disagreed, saying that his talks with citizens show their No. 1 concern is public safety and that the budget should be built with that in mind. He said Dayton residents want prostitutes and drug dealers off the street and they want to feel safe. Bohardt also criticized fire department equipment cuts.

He said the city needs to do more for downtown development, particularly re-use of the Arcade. And he said the focus should be on businesses of the future, not the past.

Bohardt said Dayton has not adequately leveraged its assets, ­— including higher education, engineering, health care, and the arts —to attract new businesses.

McLin said the city has done much to promote economic development and worked to create shovel-ready sites, such as Tech Town, for new businesses. She also touted improved regional cooperation, such as the recent tax-sharing agreement between the city, Vandalia, Moraine and Kettering should Delphi Corp. close plants in any of the four cities.

This is cache, read story here