The DeForest Village Board voted in favor of instructing village staff to create a report on revisiting its previous decision to remove fluoride additives from its water system at a meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
Village Administrator Bill Chang introduced the topic that evening, citing continued public interest and the recent departure of two trustees as basis for the discussion.
The report that staff will eventually produce to inform the board will include the following topics as discussed during the Nov. 4 meeting:
- The data and information discussed by trustees leading to the initial decision.
- Any new data or research that has come out on fluoride additives in drinking water since that time.
- The cost of returning fluoride additives to the municipal wells where it was previously incorporated, and the remaining wells where it was not.
- Possible grant opportunities to mitigate cost.
- Alternative methods for water treatment.
- Potential staff risks of handling the associated chemicals.
Current trustees expressed a general desire to take a second look at the decision going forward, but requested the staff report to inform their decision if they were to make a change.
One key portion of the discussion was the prospect of adding fluoride as an additive for the entire municipal water system.
“We need to look at all of it. Because if we’re going to provide it to a part of the community, we need to look at the cost to the whole community,” Village President Jane Cahill Wolfgram said.
Chang noted that only half of the water system had fluoride additives before their removal.
DeForest trustees voted 4-3 in favor of removing fluoride as an additive earlier this year in 2025.
The decision boiled down to possible health concerns with the chemical additive for the community and risks created for public works staff when it is stored next to other chemicals.
Several public hearings and informational presentations were held leading up to the eventual vote.
Former trustees Bill Landgraf and Rebecca Witherspoon both voted in favor of the decision. Landgraf was the subject of a recall this past September and Witherspoon resigned from her position shortly after.
“Both of the exiting trustees had voted to remove fluoride from the system. Therefore, the current make-up of the board and public interest in fluoridating the Village’s water system raises the question if the Village Board should reconsider this issue,” Chang’s memo on the subject read.
Regardless of what decision is made when the report is eventually presented to the board in the future, balancing the wishes of residents of both opinions is at the forefront of some trustees’ minds.
“The individuals that don’t want it, how do we honor their voice of not wanting to (ingest) something and also pay for something they don’t want when it occurs naturally in the community?” Trustee Dr. Taysheedra Allen said.
Original article online at: https://www.hngnews.com/the_star/local_news/deforest-board-to-revisit-fluoride-decision/article_0699cf64-084d-4d46-aadf-bbda963f255b.html