Tension arose in City Council chambers Monday night after the Simi Valley Landfill Expansion Task Force asked to be placed on the agendas of the local neighborhood councils.

Councilmember Barbra Williamson, who leads the citizens task force monitoring Waste Management's plans to expand the Simi Valley Landfill, encountered opposition from other council members during the public meeting.

While Williamson said the citizens committee simply wanted to share its concerns with neighborhood representatives, her fellow council members said the task force could do so without being put on the agendas. The group could still speak during the public comment period at those meetings.

"There was a deliberate move to not have that committee- the committee that you started- to be part of the city process," said Councilmember Glen Becerra during the public discussion with Williamson. "Now you're asking to be part of the process."

In a letter received on Aug. 6 by the city manager's office and also provided to the Simi Valley Acorn, task force member Louis Pandolfi asked Mayor Paul Miller to allow the citizens organization to be on the agenda at the neighborhood meetings.

The mayor denied the request, categorizing the task force as a "political organization" and saying that allowing them to appear in that manner would make the neighborhood councils "in violation of the City Council direction."

Miller told the Acorn this week that while the task force might not fit the classic model of a political organization, it appears to be politically motivated. "If they were taking an objective view, they wouldn't have made accusations that the City Council acted improperly," Miller said.

Williamson said her group is not a political organization, but rather a committee made up of concerned citizens. "I want to see the city policy that puts us in that position," Williamson said.

Pandolfi apologized to the council for any language used by members of the task force that might have created any ill will.

"There's an objective process that's in place," said Councilmember Michelle Foster. "Quite honestly, I don't understand what there is to take before the neighborhood council yet because the application (for landfill expansion) isn't even complete."

Williamson told the Acorn that Waste Management will be on the agenda to speak and that the task force would like to have an equal opportunity to raise questions and concerns before the application is complete, Williamson said.

As of now, according to Waste Management spokesperson Kit Cole, there is no "firm date" for WM to appear in front of neighborhood representatives.

In response to another concern voiced by the task force in recent weeks- that Waste Management would conduct only a supplemental environmental impact report- Cole confirmed that WM plans to complete a full EIR."We believe it's the best way to get all the facts on the table about our project," Cole said.

Concerns regarding an agreement made in 1999 between the city of Simi Valley and Waste Management surfaced again during council discussion. Members of the task force requested that the City Council revisit the agreement and amend the wording to make it more specific.

Nearly two weeks ago, Williamson admitted in a letter to the mayor that she mistakenly voted in support of the agreement, which states in part that the city will support "expansions of the landfill."

According to Simi Valley City Attorney David Hirsch, the agreement doesn't need to be changed.

"There really isn't any issue here," Hirsch said. "The correspondence we received from Waste Management's attorney details their understanding of the intent of the contract and it is consistent with our understanding of the intent of the contract."

Becerra said a presentation at the next City Council meeting will outline a plan for a city-sanctioned committee to look at issues outside its sphere of influence, such as the landfill.

While the mayor's decision to deny the task force the opportunity to be placed on neighborhood agendas still stands, the issue may be addressed again at the next council meeting.

Some task force critics say Williamson's interest in the landfill is premature and she may be using it as a political tool.

"Clearly Councilmember Williamson is using the landfill as a warmup for her 2008 City Council campaign," Cole said.

Miller said he has no idea what Williamson's motivation is, but any division within the City Council will not get in the way of taking care of city business. "I think all five members of the City Council want what's best for this community, including Barbra Williamson," Miller said. "It's just that one member is going about it a little differently."