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Betsy Everett, 5766 Corte Libre, commented about the number of companies that were going under and people losing their jobs. She felt the state was in dire straits. If the City employee contract has not expired, why is this action being taken now? Within a month the election will determine who will be governor and what cuts will be coming fi.om the state. She asked if this retirement plan included medical. Ms. McKeehan said that is not part of this issue. There is a program that Council approved that is ongoing for a retirement contribution to medical premiums. Ms. Everett was very upset at the number of people who do not have medical insurance or retirement benefits fi.om their employers. These people are paying taxes which purchase medical insurance and retirement plans for public employees. She hoped Council would be fiscally responsible because this affects more than just the City of Pleasanton, but the state as well. Bill Eastman, 677 Windmill Lane, indicated people can disagree on the economics of this issue, which is why there are five people on the Council. He reminded people that the City Manager does not go into negotiations without making Council aware of the issues. There are no surprises for Council. Council was aware of the expense of the public safety retirement. As it went through the process, these packages were reviewed and discussed. The PCEA package went through the process and was presented to Council, at which time it was postponed. He believed the negotiations took place with fairness and openness. Now at this meeting people are talking about economic disagreements. He felt discussions about what will happen with state funding is ingenuous, particularly with an eight-year contract. He asked who is harmed by delaying this decision. The point of his comments was not to support or oppose but to urge Council to vote on this now. It is fair not to keep the employees on tenterhooks and it is not fair for the City Manager, who negotiated the agreement in good faith. It is not fair to make this issue wait until after the election because there is only one Councilmember up for re-election. He did not think Ms. Michelotti or Ms. Dennis should be denied the opportunity to make this decision after eight years on the Council. In fairness to the employee groups, he urged Council to vote now and not put the matter off until after the election. Ms. Ayala indicated her comments about the election referred to the gubernatorial election, not City Council. Cindy McGovem, 9206 Longview Drive, felt people have negotiated in what they believed was a fair arena and that the terms had consensus approval. She asked if the terms under negotiation were made public at the beginning of the process. Ms. McKeehan indicated the Meyers-Milias-Brown rules do not provide for that. Ms. McGovem felt that means the public is never aware of what is being negotiated for them. Ms. McKeehan said until the contxact is brought to Council for ratification that is correct. Pleasanton City Council 12 10/01/02 Minutes