Residents press Westfield council for budget transparency; raise concerns about council retirement benefits

Several residents used the public-comment period at the Oct. 13 Westfield City Council meeting to press for more transparency around the 2026 budget and to raise objections to language in the proposed spending plan that would add retirement benefits for elected council members.

Veronica Winkelman, a Westfield resident who identified her address for the record, urged the council to remove a proposed city-funded 401(a) match and to pause consideration of adding councilors to PERF, the state Public Employees' Retirement Fund, until there is a formal public discussion. Winkelman said the city's human-resources policy reserves retirement participation for full-time staff and argued that the budget should not be used to add benefits without explicit policy changes and public review.

Winkelman outlined a cost estimate she attributed to PERF participation and a city-funded 401(a) match: she said the city's employer share under PERF runs about 14.2% of wages and calculated roughly $2,680 per council member per year under that share. She added that councilors' annual pay in Westfield was "just under $19,000 a year" and that extending such benefits could cost the general fund materially over multiple terms. (Numbers were presented by a public commenter and recorded for the minutes.)

Other public commentators - Reagan Grama asked the council to delay the budget vote two weeks and hold a public listening session so residents could review more detailed budget materials before a final vote. - Deirdre Mortensen and Michael Mortensen urged stronger financial reporting practices, citing Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) award standards and requesting easier public access to budget documents. - Linda Ness compared Westfield's per-capita budget and tax burden with nearby Hamilton County cities and raised concern that Westfield's proposed budget appeared high on a per-capita basis.

Council response and action taken Councilors and administration acknowledged the concerns and discussed several budget items during the meeting. Councilor Kurt Waniger moved an amendment to remove $15,000 in vehicle allowance/stipend payments that applied to two city administration positions and one elected position; Councilor Patrick Tam seconded. The amendment passed 4-2 (Yes: Waniger, Tam, Victor McCarty, Chad Hough; No: Joe Depner, Noah Herron). The council then approved the amended 2026 budget 6-0.

On the question of PERF and council retirement benefits, the elected-officials salary ordinance (Ordinance 25-64) was introduced but not adopted; the ordinance text will be revised and returned for vote at a later meeting. During introduction, Councilor Noah Herron asked where the city council membership was referenced for PERF; councilors and staff noted that the document posted for introduction required edits and that legal and administration would adjust language before final adoption.

Direct quotes from the meeting - "Including this benefit in the budget without a formal policy change in public discussion raises both legal and ethical concerns," said Veronica Winkelman, speaking during the public-comment period. - "The public deserves transparency, accountability, and clear adherence to this policy," Winkelman added. - "The budget was posted Sept. 10... Any delay from this point would put us our backs against the wall in terms of hitting those statutory requirements," said Danielle Carey Tolan, deputy mayor, explaining the administration's timeline for budget adoption.

Why this matters The discussion touches on compensation and benefits for elected officials—policy choices that have both financial and political consequences—and on the council's process for adopting the annual budget. Residents asked for more time, clearer materials and independent review before votes on major fiscal items.

Ending Councilors directed staff and legal to revise the elected-officials salary ordinance language before returning it for a vote at a future meeting. The 2026 budget was adopted after the vehicle-stipend amendment; additional transparency and documentation requests raised by residents will be handled by administration and finance staff as follow-up.