A Sioux City Seventh Grader Makes History

Before any votes or debates, the council got a genuinely heartwarming moment. Veronica Guerra, a seventh grader from Sioux City, became the first student from the city to win the Iowa League of Cities essay contest since the program started in 2014. The contest asks kids to answer: "If you were mayor for a day, what would you do for your hometown?" Out of 350-plus submissions statewide, Veronica's essay on Sioux City took the prize for Congressional District 4.

Veronica thanked her parents — immigrants who "worked hard to give me and my siblings opportunities they didn't always have" — her principal Ms. Fisher, and her siblings. Mayor Bob Scott, who spent years on the League board trying to get a Sioux City winner, was visibly proud. "This young lady's my hero," he said. She received a plaque, and the council asked for a copy of the essay. It was a nice start to a meeting that would get considerably more contentious.

The Bearcat: Protection vs. Perception

The most heated consent agenda item — and let's be honest, consent agenda items aren't usually heated — was the purchase of a Lenco Bearcat armored rescue vehicle for the police department's SWAT team. The vehicle has an 18-month lead time and a price tag that goes up if the city delays, with a $15,000 increase already absorbed since the initial quote.

Captain Ryan Bertrand (no relation to Councilmember Bertrand, for the record) laid out the case: 27 SWAT deployments since 2023, twelve involving firearms, two where officers were fired upon. The city's current armored vehicle is a military surplus MRAP — a mine-resistant carrier designed for overseas operations. It's massive, hard to navigate on city streets, can't fit down alleys, and lacks a turret for overhead protection. "Since 2012, there has been no other single thing that has changed our tactics such as this vehicle," the captain said.

Councilmember Schoenherr asked the practical question: has anyone looked at used vehicles? Captain Bertrand compared it to finding a used Toyota at a dealership — "You're not gonna see them because when they come up for sale, they either get snapped up or the department hangs onto them." He agreed to take a quick look, but wasn't optimistic.

Mayor Scott voiced real reservations. He acknowledged the need to protect officers but raised two concerns: the county already has an armored vehicle (why aren't we sharing?), and community members are genuinely worried about the militarization of local police. "There are still people in this community, I think rightfully so, that are worried about this going military with the police department," he said. "It just comes up and all of a sudden we're buying the darn thing without a whole lot of discussion."

Councilmember Rayford echoed similar sentiments — he'd heard from a constituent that day expressing concern. But both ultimately signaled they wouldn't block it.

Councilmember Bertrand, on the other hand, was enthusiastic: "The world has changed. They have different weaponry. They got drugs, they got danger." He also used the moment to push for more resource-sharing with Woodbury County on law enforcement — a theme he returned to repeatedly throughout the meeting.

The consent agenda passed, Bearcat included. Finance Director Teresa Fetch confirmed it's funded through a transfer (not bonded), using public safety COVID funds, so they could move forward immediately. This one's worth watching — 18 months from now, Sioux City PD will have a purpose-built tactical vehicle, and the community conversation about what that means isn't over.

Dylan Northrop and the Champ Plan: One Man vs. City Hall

The citizen concerns portion featured what has become a recurring appearance by Dylan Northrop, owner of DK Insurance, who has spent roughly a year trying to get the city to seriously evaluate something called the "Champ Plan" — a health insurance structure he says could save the city nearly half a million dollars annually in FICA savings and claims mitigation, with additional benefits flowing to employee paychecks.

Northrop came armed this time. He'd filed public records requests under Iowa Code Chapter 22 and obtained internal city emails that, in his telling, paint a picture of a proposal that was never genuinely evaluated. The key points from his presentation:

HR recommended moving forward. HR Director Bertrand sent an internal email in October recommending the city "at least try it out this year" because it would save money. Finance Director Fitch responded that she and City Manager Mike Colette were "not comfortable moving forward."
The city's entire legal basis was a broker memo. The incumbent insurance broker (Gallagher) provided an article calling similar plans "double dipping" — a legitimate IRS concern. But Northrop says his plan was specifically designed to avoid that issue, using two entirely separate funding streams, and came with an ERISA legal opinion letter from day one. He says the city never read the opinion letter.
The city attorney's response to his legal analysis was to Google him personally. He quoted an email: "I can't find anything on this person other than a generic website."
The city's position poisoned the well with the county. When Woodbury County expressed interest, they contacted Finance Director Fitch, who told them the city wasn't moving forward and characterized Northrop as "persistent."

Northrop asked each council member pointed yes-or-no questions about whether saving money and boosting employee take-home pay would be good things. Councilmember Bertrand acknowledged it would be good but pressed on why no other Iowa municipality is using the plan — a fair question. Councilmember Berenstein said it sounded good but noted the council doesn't understand the broader scope yet, which he called "troubling." Councilmember Schoenherr was more guarded, noting the city can't stop the county or school district from pursuing this independently.

The upshot: City Manager Colette agreed to have legal facilitate an independent ERISA attorney review of the plan at no cost to the city. Berenstein also volunteered to serve as a council representative if the city manager wants one involved. That's progress — albeit progress that apparently required a year of persistence, public records requests, and multiple council appearances to achieve.

Whether this plan is everything Northrop says it is remains to be seen. But his core complaint — that no one in city government could cite a specific statute, ruling, or case to justify rejecting it — landed. The council heard it.

Property Tax Levy: The New Council's First Win

Councilmember Bertrand used his remarks to announce preliminary numbers from the budget wrap-up, and they're significant:

Residential levy: approximately 13.85% decrease. That translates to about $113 per $100,000 of assessed value. A $300,000 home sees roughly $350 in savings. As Bertrand put it, "Some people may say that's not a big deal, but it's also not going up $350."
Commercial levy: approximately 26.8% decrease. About $399 per $1,000, or roughly $1,200 off a $300,000 commercial building.

Bertrand then publicly called on Woodbury County and the Sioux City Community School District to follow suit. "This council did it. The pressure's on them," he said. He told the county board to "do your job" and urged the school district to tap its unrestricted fund balance to buy down levies. Bold words. We'll see if anyone across the aisle is listening.

Zoning: A Lesson in Process (or Lack Thereof)

A minor zoning item — a request to vacate a portion of an alley near 5th Avenue — turned into a teachable moment about city process. Planning and Zoning recommended denial, and the petitioner (Clarence Gordon) apparently just wanted to build a carport. Staff knew a variance application would be a better path, but nobody told the petitioner that before he went through the full (and expensive) vacation process.

Mayor Scott was frustrated: "If this was your path that you thought was the road of least resistance, why did we put him through this?" Planning staff acknowledged the fee for the variance was waived, but the mayor's point stood — a month and a half was wasted. The denial passed 4-1, and the petitioner's variance hearing is set for April 4th. Sometimes city government is its own worst enemy.

Other Notable Items

Warming Shelter funding: The city is passing through another $10,000 in surplus federal COVID funds to the warming shelter. Councilmember Bertrand wants the warming shelter to present to the new council soon, noting that downtown partners, police, the chamber, and economic development all consider the facility's current location a growing problem. "It's the elephant in the room," he said.
Metro Fibernet permit: A small but amusing moment — the council noted the company was bought by T-Mobile, yet the application still says "Metro Fibernet." Bertrand confirmed he just hooked it up at his house and "you go through T-Mobile now."
Pierce Mansion damage: Volunteer Robin Shiro from Elk Point reported that a waste hauling truck damaged a wall at the Pierce Mansion roughly two years ago, and the city has neither paid for repairs nor facilitated a fix. She also flagged roof drainage damaging the historic front door. The council said they'd look into it.
Spec buildings: Bertrand pushed for an update on two planned 50,000 sq. ft. speculative industrial buildings (north side and Morningside), wanting the site identification and bidding process to move forward.
Stormwater retention: Gordon (city engineering) is researching ordinances that could help developers buy down retention pond requirements — potentially a game-changer for development feasibility. Bertrand asked him to present options in coming weeks.
Demolition of brownstone buildings: Bertrand wants weekly updates. Staff confirmed the demo can proceed without another hearing.
Jail ride program: The council discussed offering inexpensive rides ($15 flat rate) for released inmates from the jail to Walmart rather than having them walk through residential areas with no sidewalks. A cost-share with the county is being explored.

What's Coming Up

April 4th: Board of Adjustment hearing on the carport variance (alley vacation petitioner's Plan B)
April 6th: Dumpster lid lock bar cost-sharing program returns to the agenda
Parkview Boulevard water main project public meeting is tomorrow — driveways will be busted out (not bored) and patched, with about a week of curing time
Warming shelter presentation to council — timing TBD but Bertrand wants it soon
Champ Plan ERISA review — City Manager agreed to facilitate; timeline unclear
Stormwater retention rate-setting — Gordon working on options for council
Downtown Partners business liaison hire — announcement expected Thursday

— SUX