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City of Sioux City Council Meeting - January 5, 2026

The Sioux City Council held its first meeting with three newly elected members — Bertrand, Rayford, and Shaner — who wasted no time setting a new tone. They approved routine appointments and infrastructure grants, but the real action came during a debate over Fire Department staffing. The council also heard ambitious plans from Bertrand to overhaul how the city tracks permits, addresses homelessness, and manages its sprawling park system.

Key Decisions5
  • •Reappointed Todd Hagerman to the Building and Housing Code Board for a second term
  • •Deferred vote on reclassifying EMS Training Officer position until next week to review both staffing alternatives (voted 4-1, Scott opposed)
  • •Approved consent agenda items including HDR engineering consulting agreement for Bacon Creek Conduit project grant application
  • •Approved amended salary schedule for firefighter lieutenants and captains with EMT/paramedic certifications
  • •Approved plans and specs for Isabella Square and Lions Park area resurfacing project
Topics Discussed9
Fire Department EMS Training Officer position reclassification and pay equityCivil Service Commission appointments (Andrea Buckley vs. Jacob Clousing)Homeless task force updates and coordinationPermitting department transparency and economic development coordinationWastewater treatment plant budget oversightCity-owned property inventory and potential salesParks and Recreation system evaluationProperty tax levy breakdown and reduction strategiesMeeting times and public participation
Public Comments1
  • —Brett Watchorn requested evening meeting times for better public access and asked city to allow unmoderated YouTube comments to increase community interaction

New Council, New Energy

Sioux City's council chambers got a jolt Monday as three new members — Bertrand, Rayford, and Shaner — took their seats and immediately started asking questions the old guard might not have been used to hearing.

The meeting opened with routine business: reappointments to advisory boards, infrastructure grants, and personnel adjustments. Todd Hagerman was reappointed to the Building and Housing Code Board without fanfare. The Civil Service Commission saw two strong candidates — Andrea Buckley and Jacob Clousing — competing for one open seat, which made for a rare problem: too many qualified volunteers instead of empty chairs.

But the comfortable rhythm broke when the council hit Fire Department personnel issues.

The EMS Training Officer Debate

What should have been a straightforward vote turned into the meeting's main event. The Fire Department wants to reclassify an EMS Training Officer position to make it competitive enough to actually fill. The current position pays significantly less than operational roles because of how overtime is calculated — a problem that's left the job vacant and pushed extra work onto an already stretched fire training captain.

Chief Brian Collins explained the bind: The EMS training officer works a standard 40-hour week and earns about 32% less than lead medics on the operations side who work 56-hour weeks with built-in overtime. No one wants the job at that pay.

The city's proposal: Bump the pay to match the operations staff. Cost: about $30,000.

The firefighters' union counter: Make it a Deputy Training Officer position instead — a firefighter who can handle both EMS and fire training. Cost: about $52,000, but potentially offset by reducing overtime currently paid to bring in instructors.

Neil Paulson, president of the firefighters' union, showed up with an email the council hadn't seen yet, arguing the deputy role would be more flexible, more valuable, and could pay for itself over time by cutting instructor overtime.

"We spend about $10,000 just on live fire training instructors alone," Collins said. "This position could offset that."

Mayor Scott — in one of his last acts before term limits kick in — wasn't having it. "Other departments have to wait till the budget process," he said. "But by golly, we're going to do this today."

The new members weren't ready to rubber-stamp either option. Bertrand moved to pull the item and bring it back next week with both alternatives clearly laid out. The motion passed 4-1, with Scott voting no.

It was a small move, but it signaled something: This council wants to see the full picture before they vote.

Bertrand's To-Do List

If you thought that was the end of the fireworks, Bertrand had other plans. Under council concerns, he laid out what can only be described as an ambitious agenda — or a declaration of intent, depending on how you look at it.

He asked City Manager Mike Colville to start adding weekly updates from:

  • Police Chief Rex Mueller on the homeless task force formed the day after the election. Bertrand wants real-time updates on hotspots, progress, and coordination — every single week.
  • Permitting staff (specifically Brian and Henry, not their boss) to report what permits came in, what's stuck in the queue, how long they've been sitting there, and what's holding them up. He also wants to know if they're coordinating with the economic development team.
  • Wastewater treatment project leads to keep the council updated on design, budget, and whether the city's heading toward the kind of cost overruns that hit San Antonio with the same engineering firm.
  • Parks and Recreation Director Matt to present data on how many parks the city has, how outdated the system is, and how parks relate to economic development and housing.

"The era of retaliation from the permitting and engineering departments stops today," Bertrand said. "We're going to bring our builders back."

He also wants a formal process for tracking business complaints about city departments — especially claims of harassment or retaliation on job sites. If patterns emerge, he wants documentation in place to address them.

And he wants a public inventory of every property the city owns or leases. "We're not a landlord," he said. Time to sell off the loose lots and put them back on the tax rolls.

Councilmember Bernstein echoed Bertrand's concerns about homelessness and transient populations, noting it came up repeatedly during the campaign. He asked for a clear timeline on bringing stakeholders together to manage the issue.

Shaner kept it brief: He's happy to be here, eager to listen, and ready to respond.

Parks, Lots, and the Levy

Councilmember Panowicz pushed back gently on the parks critique — not to defend the status quo, but to add context. Yes, Sioux City has about 60 parks for a population of 87,000. Yes, that's a lot. Yes, maintenance costs add up.

But she pointed out the city's already been moving on this. Non-conforming lots — the tiny parcels that don't meet modern zoning — have been rezoned to allow smaller cottages and infill development. Parks and Rec has identified underused properties that can be sold off. The city's ready to move.

"A park doesn't bring revenue," she said. "We need to put something there that brings tax dollars."

She also noted the Lieber property traffic study is due in January — which raised the question of why the council approved that project before the study was done. (It's a fair question.)

Bertrand also asked Finance Director Theresa to give the council — and the public — a clear presentation on what the city's portion of the property tax levy actually is, what the council can control, and how hard or easy it would be to reduce it. The goal, he said, is to buy down the levy, whether that happens this year or in three years with a new council.

What's Next

The new council's making it clear they want more transparency, more public engagement, and more direct answers. Citizen Brett Watchorn showed up under public comment to ask — again — for evening meeting times and better interaction through the city's YouTube broadcasts. The city attorney's previously said they're worried about lawsuits if they moderate YouTube comments. Watchorn's solution: Don't moderate. Just let people talk.

The council didn't commit to changing meeting times, but Bernstein said he's open to revisiting it.

Next week, expect the EMS training officer debate to return with both options on the table. Expect weekly check-ins from department heads. Expect a lot more questions.

If Monday's meeting was any indication, the 2025 council's not here to coast.

— SUX

Watch the full meeting

Recap generated by SUX, the Siouxland AI Assistant.

This recap is AI-generated from the official meeting transcript. While we strive for accuracy, please verify important details before acting on them.