NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. - Daredevil Nik Wallenda could be a step closer to getting out of paying about $25,000 owed to the city of Niagara Falls after last month's tightrope walk over the falls.

The Niagara Falls City Council on Monday passed a resolution directing Mayor Paul Dyster to stop efforts to collect the debt incurred by Wallenda for police and fire overtime for the June 15 stunt.

According to the Niagara Gazette, which first reported the development, the council chairman said the city looked "like a bunch of idiots to the world" because it was trying to collect the debt.

But Dyster says he doesn't have the authority to "gift" public funds. It wasn't immediately clear if he would follow the council directive.

The mayor was not immediately available for comment Tuesday.

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  • Nik Wallenda

    Nik Wallenda walks over Niagara Falls on a tightrope in Niagara Falls, Ontario, on Friday, June 15, 2012. Wallenda has finished his attempt to become the first person to walk on a tightrope 1,800 feet across the mist-fogged brink of roaring Niagara Falls. The seventh-generation member of the famed Flying Wallendas had long dreamed of pulling off the stunt, never before attempted. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Frank Gunn)

  • Nik Wallenda

    Nik Wallenda walks across Niagara Falls on a tightrope as seen from Niagara Falls, N.Y., Friday, June 15, 2012. Wallenda has finished his attempt to become the first person to walk on a tightrope 1,800 feet across the mist-fogged brink of roaring Niagara Falls. The seventh-generation member of the famed Flying Wallendas had long dreamed of pulling off the stunt, never before attempted. (AP Photo/James P. McCoy)

  • Nik Wallenda

    Nik Wallenda walks across Niagara Falls on a tightrope as seen from Niagara Falls, N.Y., Friday, June 15, 2012. Wallenda has finished his attempt to become the first person to walk on a tightrope 1,800 feet across the mist-fogged brink of roaring Niagara Falls. The seventh-generation member of the famed Flying Wallendas had long dreamed of pulling off the stunt, never before attempted. (AP Photo/Gary Wiepert)

  • Nik Wallenda

    Nik Wallenda walks a 1,800 feet-long tightrope over the brink of the Niagara Falls, as seen from Niagara Falls, Ont., on Friday, June 15, 2012. Wallenda battled brisk winds and thick mist Friday to make history, becoming the first person to walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Nathan Denette)

  • Nik Wallenda

    Nik Wallenda pumps his fist as he completes his 1,800 feet-long tightrope walk over the brink of the Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, Ont., on Friday, June 15, 2012. Wallenda battled brisk winds and thick mist Friday to make history, becoming the first person to walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Aaron Vincent Elkaim)

  • Nik Wallenda

    Nik Wallenda points to the crowd of onlookers as he near completion of his 1,800 feet-long tightrope walk over the brink of the Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, Ont., on Friday, June 15, 2012. Wallenda battled brisk winds and thick mist Friday to make history, becoming the first person to walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Aaron Vincent Elkaim)

  • Nik Wallenda

    Nik Wallenda walks over Niagara Falls on a tightrope as seen from Niagara Falls, Ontario, on Friday, June 15, 2012. Wallenda has finished his attempt to become the first person to walk on a tightrope 1,800 feet across the mist-fogged brink of roaring Niagara Falls. The seventh-generation member of the famed Flying Wallendas had long dreamed of pulling off the stunt, never before attempted. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Frank Gunn)

  • Nik Wallenda

    Nik Wallenda looks at the tightrope cable in Niagara Falls, Canada, Wednesday, June 13, 2012. On Friday night Wallenda's attempt at being the first person to walk across the falls on a tightrope will be broadcast on a live ABC special, with CTV carrying it in Canada. (AP Photo/David Duprey)

  • Nik Wallenda

    FILE - This May 16, 2012 photo shows Nik Wallenda performing a walk on a tightrope in the rain during training for his walk over Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, N.Y. Wallenda can't visit a new place without envisioning a wire strung high above his head: Linking buildings, landmarks, nations. Even as a 6-year-old at Niagara Falls with his parents, he pictured walking a tightrope over the raging, whitewater maw. Now 33, he's ready to live out that childhood fantasy when he attempts Friday, June 15, 2012 to become the first person ever to walk a tightrope directly over the brink of Niagara Falls. (AP Photo/David Duprey)

  • Nik Wallenda

    Nik Wallenda performs a walk on a tightrope with the Skylon Tower in the background during training in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Tuesday, May 22, 2012. Wallenda can't visit a new place without envisioning a wire strung high above his head: Linking buildings, landmarks, nations. Even as a 6-year-old at Niagara Falls with his parents, he pictured walking a tightrope over the raging, whitewater maw. Now 33, he's ready to live out that childhood fantasy when he attempts Friday, June 15, 2012 to become the first person ever to walk a tightrope directly over the brink of Niagara Falls. (AP Photo/David Duprey)

  • Nik Wallenda

    Daredevil Nik Wallenda practices walking a tightrope on ABC's "Good Morning America" in Times Square on Wednesday, June 13, 2012 in New York. Nik will attempt to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope wire on June 15 - a feat that has been banned for over 125 years. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

  • Nik Wallenda

  • Nik Wallenda

    Daredevil Nik Wallenda walks on a tightrope past masts of the USS Constellation above Baltimore's Inner Harbor, Wednesday, May 9, 2012. Wallenda, who holds five Guinness World Records, is a seventh-generation member of the Flying Wallenda family. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

  • Nik Wallenda

    Nik Wallenda waves to tourists after a news conference in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Wednesday, May 2, 2012. Wallenda will try to cross the Niagara Gorge on a tightrope June 15. The seventh-generation member of the Flying Wallendas spent months getting the necessary permissions from Canada and the United States for the cross-border stunt. (AP Photo/David Duprey)

  • Nik Wallenda

    Tightrope walker Nik Wallenda speaks during a news conference in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011. The daredevil and his technical team met with emergency responders and others Wednesday to talk about his proposed high-wire walk over the falls. Wallenda has the support of lawmakers and tourism officials on the U.S. side of the border, but he's still got to win over parks officials in Canada. (AP Photo/David Duprey)

  • Nik Wallenda

    Nik Wallenda poses for photos after a news conference in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Wednesday, May 2, 2012. Wallenda will try to cross the Niagara Gorge on a tightrope June 15. The seventh-generation member of the Flying Wallendas spent months getting the necessary permissions from Canada and the United States for the cross-border stunt. (AP Photo/David Duprey)