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Vice -Mayor Thorne asked how much public input the various agencies actually receive from Pleasanton when determining their rate increases. Mr. Smith used last year as an example and said that Ms. Wagner spoke to them in detail about their recommendations but that only one Pleasanton resident showed up to speak out. Vice -Mayor Thorne asked if the meetings are well noticed, and Mr. Smith said they are advertised, but one must know to look for it. In closing, Mr. Smith stated that the City has exhausted all other options in terms of increasing efficiencies and utilizing reserves. When compared to others, the proposed changes still provide a great rate although that may be ignored in tough economic times. He reiterated the need for more community involvement relative to the actions of Zone 7 and DSRSD, said the City will continue to provide the same sound fiscal management of its utility, and is committed to promoting water conservation and reclaimed water. He recommended that the Council approve mailing of the Proposition 218 notice to start the public process. If approved, staff has scheduled workshops on May 6 at the OSC and May 20 at the senior center in order to speak with the public about the new proposed rate structure. Following that, staff would return to the Council on June 1 for final evaluation. Vice -Mayor Thorne explained that Zone 7 is comprised of an elected board, the makeup of which Pleasanton does have a vote in. The City receives part of its water from Zone 7 and part from its own pumping wells. The City then processes and delivers the water to consumers where once going down the drain, it is pumped to DSRSD. DSRSD is an elected board of representatives elected by the residents of Dublin and San Ramon and with whom the City contracts to provide this service. Once DSRSD treats the waste, it is then pumped into a Livermore Amador Valley Water Management Agency (LAVWMA) pipeline. He said his understanding, both as a member of the LAVWMA board and in speaking with other agencies is, that the Pleasanton public provides essentially no input on the cost of those operations. From a business perspective, the number of agencies involved looks to be incredibly redundant in terms of overhead. He said it seemed that much of the cost could be reduced the entire process were restructured and asked where it would be appropriate to raise such a political issue. Mr. Fialho said it might be appropriate to begin the discussion with the various liaison committees for which each Councilmember serves. Vice -Mayor Thorne said LAVWMA meetings are held once every other month, rarely last more than 15 minutes, and seem to be a function that could be just as easily done by another agency. Mr. Fialho suggested that it could be spread between three, as the JPA is comprised of DSRSD, Livermore, and Pleasanton. He said there has been internal discussion on the possibility of splitting off those responsibilities so that DSRSD assumes the maintenance as it currently does, Pleasanton would take over the financing and Livermore could represent the JPA from a legal perspective. In doing so, it is likely to save roughly $400,000 in operating costs. Back to his original question, Mr. Fialho said the discussion begins at the liaison level. He said staff level discussion has identified a number of legal issues associated with forming a new agency and cautioned that the discussion could take several years to get through. City Council Minutes Page 19 of 22 April 6, 2010