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Victor Malatesta said he supported the Staples Ranch project and acknowledged the many issues the Council must face and said they were not easy tasks. Dan Faustina said he felt the Initiatives were misguided and if passed, it could jeopardize the community park which would be discussed later on the agenda. He implored the Council to take leadership to educate the public on what they truly are, said the County owns the land and not the City and if the Initiatives are passed the City will not obtain the Staples Ranch property, Livermore or Dublin will annex the land or the County will build on it. He felt the City should retain the land if it wants any open space because it will otherwise be developed into retail and commercial for tax revenues. He said he was happy Councilmember Thorne was active in the process and suggested the Council repair the relationship with the County supervisor. David Bouchard, representing the Chamber of Commerce, said last month the Council discussed whether to remove Planning Commissioner Fox from her seat on the Commission. Planning Commissioner Arne Olson read into the public record several examples of why he believes the Chair should receive a vote of no confidence and thus be removed. The Chamber of Commerce supports Mayor Hosterman and Commissioner Olson in their assessment of a serious situation and commended them for their courage and leadership in suggesting appropriate action to resolve this matter and urged to take corrective action as soon as possible. Pulled Consent Items 4. Introduce an ordinance amending Section 2.04.020 of the Municipal Code concerning salaries for the Mayor and Councilmembers City Attorney Michael Roush said under State Law, City Councils may increase their salary by an amount no more than 5% each calendar year from the operative date of the last adjustment in salary. The last adjustment for Pleasanton was December of 1990 when salaries were raised to $500 per month. Also under a different part of the ordinance the Mayor's salary is tied to the Council's salaries and is $100 more or, currently $600 per month. As part of the budget process, the Council authorized funding be put into the budget that would allow the Council to consider raising its salary from the current amount of $500 to the 5% times the 18 years that it has been since the Council received a salary adjustment, which would increase the salaries from $500 per month to $950 per month. The Mayor's salary would increase to $1050 per month. As also provided by State law the salaries would not go into effect until December 2008 when the new Council terms begin and staff has recommended that salaries be adjusted as indicated in the staff report. Mayor Hosterman confirmed it will have been 18 years since the last Council salary raise in 2008 and the increase takes effect on the next election cycle for the next Council. Councilmember McGovern thanked Julie Testa for requesting removal of the item for discussion and asked the City Manager what was the period of time for the public to provide input if they did not support the action. City Manager Fialho said introduction and first reading of the ordinance was tonight, followed by second reading and adoption at the August 21 meeting. Councilmember McGovern confirmed with the City Manager that through tonight's action, members of the public will have an opportunity to view the ordinance on the City's website and a second reading will occur with public input. City Council Minutes 5 July 17, 2007