Dayton council pass 2026 budget

DAYTON — Mayor Roger Trump called the Dayton City Council to order at 6 p.m., December 16, 2025. Council members James Su’euga, Michael Smith, Glenn Hagfeldt, Kyle Anderson, Laura Aukerman, Shannon McMillen, and Joann Patras were present.

Sheriff Helm reported that his department handled 515 total incidents in November, broken down as follows: 202 traffic stops, 21 other traffic calls, and five traffic accidents. Sheriff Helm said his deputies would focus on DUI enforcement patrols this month as part of a Statewide push. He also said there was a drop box for “Toys for Tots” in the Sheriff’s Office lobby for donations.

Ryan Rundell, speaking on behalf of the County Commissioners, said there were six fire calls in the City in November and none in the county. For EMS calls, the city had forty-two, and the County had six during the same period.

Rundell said Kim Emery was appointed to the Board of Health to fill the Health Care Provider position.

The council meeting opened a public hearing on the annual city budget, which will be posted on the city’s website. As a result of negotiations with the county, City Clerk Deb Hays said Dayton utility customers should see a $7.97 reduction on their bills each month. The council had discussions to clarify several points, and there were no public comments. The mayor ended the budget hearing and the regular meeting resumed. The council approved the budget.

The council went into two executive sessions, the first for personnel issues and the second for contract negotiations. The executive sessions lasted about thirty minutes.

The council then passed an addendum to the interlocal agreement between the city and council, which, among other things, provides law enforcement support for the city. Rundell interrupted over Zoom to point out that the addendum was not the complete agreement and that the entire agreement needed to be approved by the council. After some discussion, the staff determined that the entire agreement should have been on the agenda, not just the addendum, and further decided that the council would need a special session, advertised in advance, to pass the interlocal agreement. Thursday, December 18, at 3 p.m. was chosen as the time to reconvene and properly pass the interlocal agreement.

This being Aukerman’s last city council meeting, except for the just announced special meeting, she was presented with farewell gifts from the city. Mayor Trump remarked that it was great to have different views on the council and that he appreciated Aukerman’s. Aukerman said she also appreciated everyone’s views and thought the council had come together to make some good decisions. She said she appreciated all the other council members, the mayor, and the city staff.

Aukerman closed by saying, “You’ve got a good thing going here, regardless of a few naysayers; those people don’t matter. I’d like to say all constituents matter, and they do, whether they voted for you or not. But those that are going to be filled with hate and discontent and spread rumors – they don’t matter.”

The meeting adjourned at 7:27 p.m.