City Council Work Session
Council took no vote on Two Rivers’ 74-year water fluoridation program, but asked staff to investigate what happened in communities that stopped adding fluoride before the issue returns for another work session.
Key Decisions
The council’s fluoridation review exposed a real policy choice, not a routine budget line: staff cited cavity prevention and access for lower-income residents, while council members raised health, environmental, worker-safety and personal-choice concerns. No decision was made.
Staff will contact Wisconsin communities that ended fluoridation, along with Oneida, New York, to ask about dental-health effects, public response and alternatives. The council will revisit the issue at a future work session.
Two residents gave opposing views: one supported keeping fluoride because of her own dental experience, while another written comment urged removal over claimed health concerns.
Public Input · 2 speakers
Stephens supported continuing fluoridation. She said she grew up with fluoridated water, had limited childhood dental care and did not have her first cavity until age 21.
President Stechmesser read Denor’s statement because she could not attend. She opposed fluoridation, saying she believes fluoride harms children and people with thyroid conditions, and urged the city to remove it from the water supply.