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comment portion of the meeting and speak on any matter within the subject matter jurisdiction. He said comments heard tonight which could be interpreted as campaigning and when brought up under public comment, they are permissible. But those on the dais must be cautious about what is said and responded to. He said Councilmembers can respond given their respective expertise, but need to be careful not to engage in a back and forth discussion or statements that could be construed relating to pro's and con's of the campaign. Vice -Mayor Thorne said it is somewhat confusing because sometimes things are said from the podium and directed at individual Councilmembers, and he has always understood that Councilmembers cannot respond to this. Mr. Lowell said the law allows Councilmembers to respond with information within your knowledge, but it is a grey area of law, and not responding is the safest course of action. Vice -Mayor Thorne said he wants to understand what Councilmembers can and cannot do. Councilmember McGovern agreed there are definitely things Councilmembers can do and if this is placed on the agenda, Councilmembers will know what they are. Councilmember McGovern noted that the Mayor has a standard operating procedure and she did not understand the people who are paid to represent special interest get to always speak last. She was not sure this was fair to the public. She asked the Mayor to consider a fair process because she did not believe it was fair to have special interest go last. Councilmember McGovern said she and Councilmember Sullivan had a call today from Margaret Tracy, who voiced concern that Hayward was talking about doing some work on the tower at the top of Santos Ranch Road and adding dishes and equipment to it. She said it looked like the tower would be increased in size from 150 feet above ground to 320 feet. She contacted the City Manager and suggested he explain the results of those calls. Mr. Fialho said the call was placed to the City of Hayward and he spoke with the City Manager who had limited knowledge of the project, and the Community Development Director spoke with the project manager. The City was not notified of this. There is a protocol agreement between the City of Hayward and Pleasanton that lays out how notification should work. The City received assurances from them that they plan not to do anything with the application until Pleasanton has weighed in. It is unclear whether the tower is increasing, and staff will await information and then react to it. Mayor Hosterman noted she will have an opportunity to meet with Mayor Sweeney next week and agreed to discuss this. Councilmember McGovern noted that she and Vice -Mayor Thorne had a finance meeting with staff. There were concerns about a plan with DSRSD and asked the City Manager to discuss this. City Manager Fialho said the Finance Committee comprised of Councilmembers McGovern and Thorne sent out an email requesting that DSRSD defer action on a proposed regional sewer rate increase. The City contracts with DSRSD to provide water treatment services, and there is a regional sewer charge on utility bills. Their initial proposal is to raise the rate by 18 She said they are also having discussions at the Finance Committee level, with a report to return in the next few weeks, about the City's local rates. Staff is concerned with how DSRSD proposal and the City's proposal confuses the public and concerns about not being able to talk about their proposal at length before they advance it too far. Therefore, the Committee City Council Minutes Page 7 of 8 March 2, 2010