Allegations about potential conflicts tied to a city contract and compensation surfaced during the Mapleton mayoral forum, with incumbent mayor Dallas and City Council member Theron trading explanations and denials.

Dallas raised a contract awarded in 2024 to Rhino Excavating and said the company was paid "1,500,000" for a city project. He framed the award and the council's role as a transparency concern: "It wasn't until that there was an election time that it became a problem," he said, and he pressed the point that council members who help set pay and then receive pay may present a conflict.

Theron said the payments reported on a state website amounted to about $62,000 tied to EMS work and council stipends. He described the EMS pay as a modest stipend for volunteer shifts and training, saying he began at "$1 an hour" and now makes "a whole $4 an hour" as an EMS stipend, and that he files annual conflict-of-interest reports with the city. He also told the forum that the Rhino contract award was legal and that he had voted on the matter in an open council meeting, but acknowledged the award made some residents and him personally "uncomfortable" and that it had an appearance problem.

Neither candidate produced new documentation at the forum; Dallas alleged the contract saved the city money compared with other bids, while Theron said the transaction was legal and that disclosures had been filed. No formal city action was taken at the forum; the discussion was part of the candidatesexchange and will likely continue in other venues as the election approaches.