Council members are waiting for the conclusions of an independent investigation before they draft a response to a report that accuses the mayor of hiding facts when the council approved a contract with Norcal for garbage and recycling services.

"My goal is to get us moving forward and to work with the independent investigation," District 3 Councilwoman Cindy Chavez said.

The council's response is required after a grand jury report criticized Mayor Ron Gonzales and his budget aide, Joe Guerra, for not disclosing to council members that a 2000 contract awarded to waste hauler Norcal would be $11.25 million more expensive than they thought. According to the grand jury report, there were increased labor costs because the mayor wanted the Teamsters to represent the employees since they provide higher wages than a competing union.

On Sept. 1, the mayor, along with the city manager and the city attorney, issued a report that rebutted point-by-point each of the findings of the grand jury report.

Saying the mayor's report doesn't provide satisfactory answers, council members voted 9-1 at their Sept. 13 meeting to reject the mayor's response to the grand jury report as their own. Instead, they will wait for the completion of the independent investigation before responding.

District 4 Councilman Chuck Reed cast the lone no vote, saying that the council needed to take a formal stance on the mayor's actions. Reed's suggestion was voted down. Other council members said it was better to be patient and that any finger pointing would be premature.

District 9 Councilwoman Judy Chirco said it is important to respect the process of fact-finding before assigning blame for wrongdoing. District 6 Councilman Ken Yeager agreed, saying he would wait to pass judgment. He said he was "a little dumbfounded" when he read the mayor's response.

"I wish I had answers," Yeager said.

Other council members like District 8 Councilman Dave Cortese said Gonzales' response shifts the focus away from the mayor by saying council members should have known about the higher costs because of prior discussions regarding prevailing wages.

"It's clever to turn around and reframe the issue," Cortese said.

Only District 2 Councilman Forrest Williams struck a different tone, saying it is the council, and not solely the mayor, who makes the decisions affecting the city.

"It seems to me we want to beat up on our mayor," he said.

While the council could be dealing with issues of wrongdoing among city officials, the Norcal discussion seems to have stirred up limited emotion from residents. Chirco's office has received some emails about the issue, according to staff members, but in the District 10 office, there has been very little correspondence, said Lee Wilcox, chief of staff for District 10 Councilwoman Nancy Pyle. Yeager said his office has not received emails or phone calls, though residents do bring up the issue when they see him.

"People are aware," he said. "They are concerned about this, albeit they're confused about what may have happened because there are so many versions."