Council Bluffs City Council Meeting – June 8, 2026
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Council Bluffs City Council Meeting – June 8, 2026
The Council Bluffs City Council held a study session and regular meeting on June 8, 2026, via Zoom with Mayor Schudak attending remotely. The meeting covered presentations on insurance renewal and the comprehensive plan update, proclamations, multiple public hearings, ordinance readings, and a tobacco violation hearing. A key item was the proposed repeal of the pit bull ban, which drew extensive public comment and failed on a 1-4 vote.
Consent Calendar
- The council approved the consent agenda, including resolutions for a memorandum of understanding with the Homeland Security Task Force (Resolution 26-206), an operational services contract with Heartland Family Service for a satellite office at the police department (Resolution 26-207), bid acceptances for Avenue B Phase 2 (Bluffs Paving) and Richard Downing Avenue Reconstruction (Carly Construction), continuations of 2% franchise fees on electric (Resolution 26-210) and natural gas (Resolution 26-211), and a resolution assessing a civil penalty to VIP Smoke Shop for a tobacco violation (Resolution 26-212).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Tobacco Violation Hearing: Officer Adam Beemis testified that a compliance check on April 23, 2026, at VIP Smoke Shop (305 East Broadway) resulted in a sale of a vape to an 18-year-old buyer without age verification. The cashier, Thayer Fitahay, was cited for a second offense after a prior violation on January 22, 2026. The store representative, Bryce Stacey, denied the sale and stated that video footage was not available because the system only retains two weeks of data. The council assessed a $1,500 fine or 30-day suspension; the owner chose the $1,500 fine.
- Pit Bull Ban Repeal (Ordinance 6689): Over 40 residents spoke, the vast majority in favor of repeal. Speakers included:
- Mayor Jill Schudak (speaking as a citizen): Argued that breed-specific legislation is ineffective, misidentification is common, and the ban punishes responsible owners while not achieving safety goals. She noted that the Humane Society offered legal assistance to rewrite dangerous dog ordinances.
- Nikki Crookshank (Midlands Humane Society Executive Director): Advocated for focusing on behavior rather than breed and noted the community's strong support for repeal.
- Multiple residents shared personal stories of beloved pit bulls that were gentle family pets, and described the emotional impact of the ban, including having to surrender dogs or move out of the city.
- Professionals (veterinary staff, kennel operators, trainers) testified that aggressive behavior is not breed-specific and that breed bans lead to shelter overcrowding and euthanasia.
- One speaker (Troy Bremer) opposed repeal, citing statistics that pit bulls accounted for 23% of bites despite being only 2.3% of registered dogs at the time of the ban, and argued the ban has reduced bites by 25%.
Discussion Items
- Insurance Renewal Presentation: Heath Hockenberry of Gesture Insurance (now part of Gallagher) presented the FY27 property and liability insurance renewal. Total premium decreased 7% to $1.67 million, driven by a 17% drop in property rates. The city saw a two-year rate lock on excess liability and workers' compensation. The premium was 7% under budget. The city’s $10 million liability limit is in the 75th percentile compared to peers.
- Comprehensive Plan Update (Elevate CB 2050): Sheila Shockey and Jeffrey Williams of Shockey Consulting outlined the 14-month process to create a new comprehensive plan and downtown master plan. Phase one (launch and discovery) includes community engagement, surveys, focus groups, and a planning advisory committee. The project website launched May 2, and branding was introduced as “Elevate CB 2050.” Key milestones: adopt plan by April 2027.
- Rezoning Request (Ordinance 6684): The council considered rezoning 2231 Avenue B (former Corpus Christi Church) from R2 to R3 to allow conversion to an indoor golf facility. The developer intends to seek a conditional use permit. Council members expressed support for adaptive reuse and a phased parking plan.
- Final Plat Approval: The council approved the final plat for the Peer Center Edition (five lots north of the Lakin campus) for a new peer support center serving adults with disabilities.
- Pirate Cove Filter Replacement (Resolution 26-202): Set a public hearing for replacement of the 30-year-old filter system, currently operating at 80% capacity.
- Animal Control Ordinances (Ordinances 6686, 6687, 6688): First reading passed to update definitions, procedures, and enforcement, moving animal control oversight from community development to the police department. Changes include adding a 30-day timeline for submitting dog photos and requiring an adult over 18 to handle dangerous dogs.
- Building Department Creation (Ordinance 6690): First reading passed to create a standalone Building Department under the mayor, separating it from Community Development. The change is intended to improve efficiency and has been budgeted for.
- Wage Increases: Resolutions for fire supervisor pay (26-215) and police supervisor pay (26-216) were tabled until June 22, 2026, pending contract negotiations. Non-union employee wage increase (26-217) was approved.
- Pit Bull Ban Repeal (Ordinance 6689): After extensive public comment, Councilmember Button moved to repeal the 20-year-old ban, arguing for breed-neutral policies. Councilmembers DeSalvo, Gorman, Rue, and Standale opposed, citing the 2022 federal court ruling upholding the ban, statistical disparities in dog bites, and the severity of pit bull attacks. The motion failed 1-4.
Key Outcomes
- Pit Bull Ban Repeal: Failed (1-4). Councilmember Button voted aye; councilmembers DeSalvo, Gorman, Rue, and Standale voted nay.
- Tobacco Violation Penalty: Approved a $1,500 fine or 30-day license suspension for VIP Smoke Shop; the owner chose the fine.
- First Reading Ordinances Approved: 6685 (alarm systems), 6686 (animal control procedural), 6687 (dangerous dog designation), 6688 (vicious animal seizure), 6689 (pit bull ban repeal – failed), 6690 (building department), 6682 (restrictions on pet ownership – third reading waived), 6683 (recycling center rules – third reading waived).
- Resolutions Approved: Consent agenda items (MOU, contracts, bid acceptances, franchise fees, tobacco penalty), plus Hillcrest Avenue Phase 2 plans (Resolution 26-205), and amendments to development agreements for First Avenue Freeze Out (Resolution 26-213) and Spin Lofts (Resolution 26-214).
- Public Hearings Held: Final plat for Peer Center Edition and Hillcrest Avenue Phase 2 were approved.
- Wage Increases: Fire and police supervisor increases tabled to June 22; non-union increase approved effective July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027.
Meeting Transcript
We're gonna get started. Uh Mayor Schudak is joining via Zoom. We're gonna start with uh Gesture Insurance and Heath Hockenberg. Can you feel touch the button on the microphone to turn it on and you can talk? Good afternoon, everyone. I'm gonna hand these out for you. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you. Okay. All right, good afternoon, everyone. My name is Heath Hockenberry. I am with Gesture Insurance, and we helped the city manage their property and liability insurance needs that are coming up for renewal on 7-1. And myself in partnership with Ron and the risk manager for the city have gone through all of this, and we're just here to walk through it with the council as a whole this afternoon. I don't anticipate a ton of questions. So the document though that we're going to spend our time on is that first one that just says insurance renewal overview, because there's a lot of additional information throughout the packet that if you have time as you go forward in the evening or the next couple days, if you have questions, review it, let Ron know, and then let me know if you can't fall asleep tonight. There's a lot of detail in there. Start reading it, and it'll probably put you to sleep. So again, Heath Hockenberg with Gesture Insurance. We have been the city's property and casualty insurance broker since January of 2023. Some changes within our office in the last year. We actually became part of Gallagher last fall. So there's some positive things with that transition for us that I'll point out as we go through kind of this overview this afternoon that I'm excited about, additional tools and resources that we have available as we continue to service uh the city's insurance needs. So on the review, um, quickly just kind of a general market overview. You'll all in the packet, you also have a separate staple document like this that's five or six pages that goes into more in-depth of what the insurance market uh is doing nationally and then geographically as well. But some highlights uh for the for you folks right now. Um the current conditions, things are from an underwriting standpoint, are changing depending on the line of coverage, and and really the area where we're seeing stabilize and some significant uh rate decreases is on the property side, and and we'll touch on that in more depth uh as we go forward. For public entities areas where we're still continuing to see uh some tightening and and some rate increases uh depending on loss history, are it is primarily in the excess casualty or liability uh line of coverage. So that's body landry property damage, etc. That the city is deemed legally liable for. So we're excited about that and really happy uh with the renewal proposal that we have in front of you for the next uh fiscal year. As far as a um premium overview goes, there's some tweaks in here because I got I received an updated last-minute uh quote proposal from the city's current property insurer. So I'll have you jot down some different numbers and what are reflected uh on this overview, and then I will send Ron uh electronic copies of up all the updated documents that you guys have in front of you that reflect that uh new proposal. So for FY27, total premium will be 1.67 million. That is actually a decrease year over year of 7%. So for the folks that have been on the council the last several years, we we definitely have not been seeing decreases uh in total premium. So very, very happy again about what we were able to accomplish this year at the renewal uh in partnership with Ron. Since we took over as broker in January of 2023, that 1.67 is one percent higher than where the city's premium was three and a half years ago. So I'm really proud of that given where the insurance market has been the last three and a half years. Uh really, really satisfied with uh where we're at today, even compared to where we were three and a half years ago. The decrease in premium is driven by the improving property market. And one thing that we did this year, because the property insurance market is improving, and you may not see it specifically in your personal uh lives yet on your homeowners, but in the commercial insurance space, especially with larger insured values, and public entities have that. We are seeing an increase in capacity with reinsurers, which is driving down the rates. That increased capacity is because knock on wood, we have had some good weather years the last few years, specifically here in the Midwest. We also decided because that was happening in the market, when that occurs, it's a perfect time to market that line of coverage and go out there and see what else is available. The tricky thing is with large public entities, there really aren't that many options that can really provide a competitive option from a property standpoint as far as premium coverages, deductibles, et cetera. So your current provider is APIP, the APIP program, and that's the largest property placement program in the world for public entities. Now that we are part of Gallagher, Gallagher has actually developed their own exclusive and proprietary property program specific for public entities. So we marketed the city's coverage this year with APIP to the GovRo program. If you dig through the proposal, and I'll give some specifics, we still think it makes the best most sense for the city to remain with APIP for this year.
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