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Bolivar council leaves fluoride in water after utility board recommendation
Summary
Council discussed recent pressure from outside groups and a state health review but took no action to remove fluoride; the utility board recommended continuing fluoridation and no formal vote to change policy was taken.
The Bolivar City Council discussed whether to remove fluoride from the municipal water supply but decided not to override the utility board’s decision to retain it.
The mayor said the discussion began after an outside group urged local utilities to stop fluoridation and that the state health department informed the city fluoridation is not mandatory. The mayor told the council the utility board reviewed the matter and “recommended we just leave it in and keep doing what we’ve been doing,” and asked whether council wanted to override that recommendation. No council member moved to change the utility board’s policy.
Why it matters: fluoridation touches public-health practice, utility spending and public opinion. Council members flagged the administrative cost of replacing or upgrading the water system if the city were to remove fluoridation during a larger rehabilitation project that is already under way with ARP funding.
Details: city staff said contractors are currently dredging lagoons and that water and sewer work related to ARP projects is about 80% complete. Council members were told the state had planned to send a presentation from the state director and dental health officials but the mayor said he spared the council that presentation unless they wanted it. The mayor left the matter with the utility board’s status quo and said the council could still act later if it chose.
Next steps: the council took no formal action to change fluoridation; the utility board’s decision to continue fluoridation remains in place unless the council later votes to override it.
