City staff presented Ordinance Bill No. 7 for 2025, a proposal to repeal Sweet Home Municipal Code section 13.040.17, the city's longstanding requirement to fluoridate the municipal water supply. The requirement was originally enacted in 1964 following a special election, staff said.

Staff estimated the city's fluoridation system costs at about $20,000 per year for chemicals and associated operations and noted an annual hazardous waste fee of about $3,000 for storing the product on-site. Staff also told council there had been a prior public hearing in February 2014 on the topic but that the council did not take action at that time.

Council considered five options: take no action, conduct a first reading of the proposed ordinance, amend the ordinance before first reading, refer the question to voters via ballot measure, or request further research. A councilor moved to conduct the first reading as presented; the motion passed 6-0. The council then voted to read the ordinance by title only for the second reading that evening and moved the third reading to the next council meeting, again by unanimous votes.

No public testimony on the repeal was recorded during this portion of the meeting. Staff said the ordinance is a response to council direction from a prior meeting and presented the repeal as an item for council deliberation on whether to maintain, repeal or refer the issue to voters.