Two City Council members are butting heads over a recent disclosure of confidential discussions about city business and public money.

Rod Tam is asking the city Ethics Commission to determine whether Charles Djou violated the City Charter in April by revealing information about a $300 million sewer repair plan.

But Djou said he had no regrets about responding to an Advertiser reporter's inquiry about the plan after he and other council members were briefed about it by attorneys behind closed doors.

"The people have a right to know, and need to know, that the city is staring down the pipe of spending significant amounts of money," Djou said Wednesday.

At the time of Djou's disclosure, the city was preparing to enter a federal court agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to require the sewer work. Djou outlined the deal in an on-the-record interview.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann and some other officials and council members were clearly displeased that the information appeared in the next day's newspaper, but the story did not derail the agreement.

Tam said disclosing information from private "executive session" briefings "creates a bad environment to work in, and sooner or later, no one trusts each other."

He outlined his concerns in a letter to the Ethics Commission dated July 16. A copy of the letter was faxed anonymously to The Advertiser Wednesday.

Djou, an attorney, said he is confident the commission will exonerate him, since there is no council rule or policy that clearly prohibits a member from disclosing information from executive sessions.

Tam and Djou are aligned with opposing council factions and are not personal friends. Tam is seen as a Hannemann ally, while Djou has been an outspoken critic.

Council chairwoman Barbara Marshall has introduced a resolution that would prohibit the disclosure of information from executive sessions unless at least two-thirds of the council's members vote to allow it.

If the new policy is approved, members who violate it could be barred by the council chair from future private sessions.