[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6344847,"mediaKeyId","2250150-f59751ac6266e52c853eaa9940185c8e","parentId",2250150,"title","Commissioners deadlock on immediate end to water fluoridation after heated public comments","audioSeconds",7203,"startMs",1013000,"endMs",8216000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2250150-f59751ac6266e52c853eaa9940185c8e&start=1013&end=8216","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2250150-f59751ac6266e52c853eaa9940185c8e/thumbnail_1013000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6344847/Hillsborough-County/Florida/Commissioners-deadlock-on-immediate-end-to-water-fluoridation-after-heated-public-comments","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6344847-d4780e69eb63289ff25df014ccdd8362/orig.mp4?Expires=1770422154&Signature=JY7Uu8TSwjypUjmv8q4z3Gn-qxf-M5qZPOocfyu5xsbat1CNwbUCV7tMXdPDyKYaLP~qhEdECYQH8vNovIFbcO8leQbCgnoR4fPe7YaCPvK~HuMAkg8m5x7dqKEYW6uyIrzqu0SlJZsj8D2248OURpN287TYIe7EqborU3Rfp6aokY8ZRGdx9kAulNwfOgBG0DdoVNPp0wX~zRd6zFqTEbFMVgp0eNDztMxdoJqmxoPs~n03ntSvwrH2Nj1RM3qYPS7sy-uKJfFbkfS3TUal8sD-fkl-CYgTVNQrlkiGQhCzz-F0hcSUBdGkyyOSgqYnNxhmKvAb6T4d703VRiC5kw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Hillsborough County, FL","date","2025-02-07T16:18:13Z","article","Commissioners at the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners meeting on Feb. 5, 2025 voted 3-3 on a motion to stop the county’s process of adding fluoride to the drinking water, defeating an effort to end fluoridation immediately.

The motion, made by Commissioner Joshua Wostel (District 7) and seconded by Commissioners Christine Miller and Donna Cameron Cepeda, would have directed staff to terminate the water-resources process that adds fluoride at the county’s current target of 0.7 milligrams per liter. Wostel opened his remarks by citing a federal judge’s finding and saying, “the court finds that fluoridation of water at 0.7 milligrams per liter…the level presently considered ‘optimal’ in the United States, poses an unreasonable risk of reduced IQ in children.”

The question drew sustained public comment. Speakers who urged removal included Debbie Potts, a former Hillsborough County teacher, who said the “recent research has suggested there might be more serious risk to children’s development,” and Amanda Bruno, who called fluoridation “forced exposure” and said, “I demand to know the true necessity of fluoride in our water supply.” Nurse practitioner Pat Metcalfe told the board the product in the system is “harmful if swallowed” and argued residents lack informed consent.

Health professionals who urged caution included Dr. Natalie Carbostillo, a practicing pediatric dentist in Riverview, who asked the board to hold a workshop “where all experts and interested individuals can attend to speak to the pros and the cons of water fluoridation.” Ashley Tate, a board-certified pediatric dentist, told commissioners that professional organizations including the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the American Dental Association continue to endorse community water fluoridation and that removal could increase dental decay, particularly among low-income children. Tate said research showing harm often relied on areas with much higher fluoride concentrations than used in U.S. community fluoridation programs.

Supporters of immediate removal pointed to recent legal and scientific developments. Public commenters and Commissioner Wostel referenced a federal court ruling finding the fluoridation level of 0.7 mg/L poses an “unreasonable risk” to children’s IQ; several speakers also cited guidance from Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo and a National Toxicology Program report. Wostel read figures from the court record saying pooled analyses showed “a 1-point drop in IQ…for each 0.28 milligrams per liter of fluoride in a pregnant mother’s urine,” and he told the board that maternal urinary fluoride concentrations in U.S. populations can be in ranges the court found concerning.

Commissioner Harry Cohen (District 1) and others urged caution and a broader review before ending county fluoridation. Cohen said the Centers for Disease Control and federal public-health guidance continue to recommend 0.7 mg/L and that national dental organizations identify community fluoridation as a longstanding public-health measure. “The absolute most that we should do under the circumstances is schedule a workshop with medical professionals who are both for and against the fluoride being placed into the water,” Cohen said.

When the motion was called, Commissioners Chris Bowles (District 6), Harry Cohen and Ken Hagan (District 2) voted no, while Commissioners Joshua Wostel, Christine Miller and Donna Cameron Cepeda voted yes, producing a 3-3 tie; the motion failed. The board did not adopt an immediate policy change. Commissioner Cohen said he would pursue a workshop that brings medical experts on both sides to a future meeting.

Clarifying details included during testimony: speakers said the county’s natural fluoride level is about 0.4–0.5 mg/L and that the county-added target is 0.7 mg/L; some speakers said the National Toxicology Program identified neurodevelopmental harm at higher concentrations (1.5 mg/L) while the federal judge’s analysis cited effects at lower levels when combined with other exposure measures. Multiple public speakers also pointed to the industrial origin of the fluoride chemicals used in some water systems and cited safety-data-sheet language for hydrofluorosilicic acid; dentists in the room emphasized that topical fluoride treatments and home filtration options exist.

The board did not adopt additional measures at the Feb. 5 meeting beyond the failed motion. Commissioners indicated a willingness from several members to schedule a public workshop for expert presentations and to revisit the subject with more technical testimony and staff analysis.

Ending: The item remains open. The immediate motion to stop adding fluoride failed; several commissioners and staff said they will arrange a broader, expert-led discussion for a future meeting so the board can consider technical evidence, legal developments and public-health guidance before taking permanent action.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Board of County Commissioners: Regular Meeting - 2.5.25","oneSentenceSummary","Commissioners at the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners meeting on Feb. 5, 2025 voted 3-3 on a motion to stop the county’s process of adding fluoride to the drinking water, defeating an effort to end fluoridation immediately.","taxTitle","Hillsborough County, Florida","taxId",2865,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6344837,"Votes at a glance: housing bonds, FEMA advance, internal-auditor contract, and other actions",2473,3987000,6460000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2250150-f59751ac6266e52c853eaa9940185c8e&start=3987&end=6460","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2250150-f59751ac6266e52c853eaa9940185c8e/thumbnail_3987000.jpg","/articles/6344837/Hillsborough-County/Florida/Votes-at-a-glance-housing-bonds-FEMA-advance-internal-auditor-contract-and-other-actions","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6344837-d178563697d35ed0fe6594650b02569d/orig.mp4?Expires=1770422154&Signature=nhq7fTX~cd8HoRK2dPr7FKCHOT1lkjvesH0F9bz0h492MWLa7emJt2Xo19nzwqwzXAz7wGeZUAg9UCBKtXXE6Se10BlorCLWY5PYE8Z~wAEh3PEQxlGcl0Jfcl7NnSkgebm4tsWVMyPKTVLx96UEyJFSAhlV0YFELqtBFsSPzenFFK2W5EXlH0iHUa7dZ191Ld86dNV7tiHcn7vTRb-CHu9ABZkR2w6XGgO-emMsZasVb~PUM7FSCWiNvBFCh~Fg45iU5bMO4yjM3vN360k~VrcZ~2Mu3IX0F95rXcXtbhnFzoa6ezgTQXXyPmam4nevg27dKQ6ETuYKeFQuvzKt-w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Hillsborough County commissioners handled a series of formal actions on Feb. 5, 2025, approving Housing Finance Authority issuances, FEMA debris-collection appropriations and several contracts and administrative directions. Below is a concise summary of each formal vote recorded in the meeting and the board’s immediate next steps.

Votes at a glance

- B1 — Housing Finance Authority: single-family mortgage revenue bonds (up to $200,000,000). Purpose: to fund income-eligible first-time homebuyer mortgages; no county funds involved according to staff. Motion to approve carried (transcript: “Motion carried. Five-two-one.”); mover Commissioner Harry Cohen; second Commissioner Chris Bowles. Record notes one or more dissenting votes; staff said the HFA issuance involves multiple counties for economies of scale.

- B2 — Housing Finance Authority: multifamily mortgage revenue bonds (up to $16,000,000) to finance a 77-unit multifamily project at 5920 Robert Toll Drive in Riverview. The board noted a previously approved county investment of $7,634,900 on March 1, 2023 that remains allocated to the project. Motion carried (transcript: “Motion carried five-two-two.”); mover Commissioner Gwen Myers; second Commissioner Harry Cohen. Commissioners Christine Miller and Joshua Wostel voted no.

- B3 — Amendments to 2025 State Legislative Agenda. Motion to approve staff-recommended amendments and additions carried (transcript: “Motion carried, six–zero”). Staff will return with a clarified list separating boardwide priorities from individual commissioner items.

- F3 — Authorize chair to negotiate a contract extension for the county administrator (chair to negotiate and return recommended contract for board approval). Motion carried (transcript: “Motion carried 5 to 0” when recorded); mover Commissioner Harry Cohen; second Commissioner Chris Bowles.

- F4 — Authorize chair to negotiate a contract for county internal auditor (Melinda Ginzarley) and return recommended contract to the board for approval. Motion carried (transcript: recorded as carried 6 to 0); mover Commissioner Harry Cohen; second Commissioner Chris Bowles. Commissioners discussed the internal auditor office’s role and the upcoming Charter Review Board review; staff will return with contract details.

- B4 — FEMA advance payments for Hurricane Milton debris removal appropriation: staff requested and the board approved a budget amendment to appropriate $81,750,000 to the board’s FEMA Hurricane Milton disaster fund. The request included an anticipated FEMA advance of approximately $80,670,000 and $1,075,000 in interest earnings to be remitted to the state. Motion carried 6–0; mover Commissioner Joshua Wostel.

- F1 — Regional Resiliency Summit (Commissioner Cohen’s item) — motion to approve carried 6–0.

- Van Dyke Road / Lithia Pinecrest Road — Commissioners directed staff to present timelines and next steps for widening each road at a future meeting; the board later substituted and approved separate presentations for each project. Motion to separate the presentations carried 6–0.

- F5 — Remove fluoride additives from Water Resources process (Commissioner Joshua Wostel motion). Motion failed on a 3–3 tie (Commissioners Bowles, Cohen and Hagan voted no); the board did not adopt an immediate change.

Notes and clarifications

- B2 contains county investment previously approved on March 1, 2023 of $7,634,900; the HFA issuance portion is separate and does not use county funding per staff.

- Several recorded vote tallies in the meeting transcript are transcribed as the board recorded them on the dais; where the packet or minutes show discrepancies, staff minutes and the official clerk’s record should be consulted for the certified roll call.

Ending: Staff will return with contract recommendations (F3, F4), project timelines for Van Dyke and Lithia Pinecrest roads, and a clarified legislative priority list. The fluoride motion failed; commissioners indicated they will pursue expert testimony and technical analysis before further action.","At its Feb. 5, 2025 meeting the Hillsborough County Board approved Housing Finance Authority bond issuances, an $81.75 million FEMA advance payment appropriation for hurricane debris, contract negotiation authorizations for the county administrator and internal auditor, and several other items; key votes and tallies are summarized below.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6344842,"Board amends state legislative priorities after heated debate over Sunshine Law exemption",1012,2578000,3590000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2250150-f59751ac6266e52c853eaa9940185c8e&start=2578&end=3590","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2250150-f59751ac6266e52c853eaa9940185c8e/thumbnail_2578000.jpg","/articles/6344842/Hillsborough-County/Florida/Board-amends-state-legislative-priorities-after-heated-debate-over-Sunshine-Law-exemption","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6344842-04f7bbe94c8e98b983270c165ceaa56e/orig.mp4?Expires=1770422154&Signature=KzyXvD5ENUr5fmouesL2f256ZxN7yi-FvOFKh-2aTPBgq6u82nYzq8jE3TvTFmntOlTB3m98oSRWdldIUZWGUb4ytiTh625XXGkpACCiMmTgAL9zdRFXcAiuacvwXL3HdouxUHibxw~~sxV6-DoTlwD9H2it42gEOEcBWRyI~z5Ya9x9GexAtIbqlmg~9Dh95tkbrplXMZecii-MiIbRbyUGObgGOl9TsoXDXOC-TucauDDTEcPIlK1zFhQXRBPO6pHCLmCu5Y65kOQ6c730hbvXQ56nc9BxnjvWThK2PGuqDc64Hfeq0DVcJVfHMW-K3EShlgBCWKlKF~TRyGdZ0w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Hillsborough County commissioners on Feb. 5, 2025 approved amendments to the county’s 2025 state legislative agenda but, after extensive debate, directed staff to return with a clarified priority list and removed a proposed blanket exemption to Florida’s Sunshine Law from the board’s immediate legislative package.

The board voted to accept updates that added seven items to the agenda — including emergency operations and infrastructure requests — with staff reporting the revised legislative package would total roughly $36.1 million in appropriation requests. Cameron Pennant, the county’s director of government relations, briefed the board on the additions and said they included requests tied to post-hurricane recovery and capital improvements.

The meeting then turned to a sustained debate over an item that would have asked the state legislature to amend the Sunshine Law to allow limited private discussions by commissioners in certain circumstances. Commissioner Donna Cameron Cepeda, who had placed the item on the draft list, defended the proposal as focused on “improv[ing] the functionality of the decision making process for commissioners and specific boards,” saying it was “not about reducing transparency but rather advocating to improve the functionality of the decision making process.”

Other commissioners objected to the proposal’s breadth and to the packet presentation; several members said the draft document had previously shown individual commissioners’ items in red or labeled by name but that the final packet removed that visual distinction. Commissioner Chris Bowles and others pressed that a narrow, targeted request — for example, a limited Sunshine exemption tailored to the Commission on Human Trafficking to protect investigative tactics — would be preferable to a broad change.

Brandon Wagner, government-relations staff, explained the packet process: staff compiles suggestions from departments and individual commissioners and initially marks commissioner-origin items by name so commissioners can see authorship. “The things that were without name were staff,” Wagner said, and once the board adopts the program it becomes the board’s document; staff then typically removes names before sending the package to Tallahassee.

After substitute motions and discussion, the board voted 6-0 to direct the government affairs office to bring back a revised legislative priority list for the 2025 session, separately identifying which items are board positions and which are individual commissioner priorities. Commissioners said they wanted clearer process controls and the ability to revisit or amend items at a subsequent meeting.

Ending: The amended legislative program was approved in concept; staff will return with a clarified, finalized priority list that separates board-wide positions from individual commissioner items and addresses the Sunshine Law language.","Commissioners approved updates to the county's 2025 state legislative agenda but removed an item seeking broader exemptions from Florida's Sunshine Law after extended debate; staff was directed to return with a revised priority list for the legislature.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Commissioners deadlock on immediate end to water fluoridation after heated public comments

Votes at a glance: housing bonds, FEMA advance, internal-auditor contract, and other actions

Board amends state legislative priorities after heated debate over Sunshine Law exemption