Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Westminster staff present draft ballot language for public safety and roads; council asks clarifying edits
Summary
Staff briefed council on draft ballot language for a proposed sales tax increase ("moving to 0.4%"), reviewed by bond counsel and polling consultants; councilors asked edits to clarify response-time language, whether county sales-tax totals should be presented and the ordering of bullets.
City staff presented a draft of proposed ballot language Aug. 4 that would fund firefighter and emergency medical staffing, new fire stations and pavement work and asked council for feedback before returning the language for formal action later in August.
A staff member told the council the draft language has been reviewed by city attorneys, bond counsel and the polling consultants Magellan Strategies and said the draft moves the proposed tax “to 0.4%.” The draft includes a goal to “hire a minimum of 30 firefighters, emergency medical, and support personnel to reduce response time at new stations in North and Central Westminster and maintain emergency services citywide,” language that several councilors said could be read as confusing because it references response-time reductions at “new stations” while appearing to address citywide response time.
Councilors suggested edits to lead with the main objective — reducing response times citywide — and then state the staffing numbers and station additions as supporting details. One councilor urged caution about including comparative county sales-tax totals directly in the ballot question, noting differences between Adams and Jefferson counties could add complexity; staff said comparative totals are being shown in educational materials and on the city website but advised against adding them to the ballot text to keep the question concise.
Councilors also discussed the order of bullets in the draft. One councilor proposed moving the roads bullet to the top so readers see it without reading the whole question; others preferred to keep the current order for consistency with polling. Staff said they can make the clarifying edits in time for the next mailer and will return refined language for council consideration at the Aug. 25 study session.
Staff said next steps include a mailer with the language to residents in the next one to two weeks and returning to the council on Aug. 25 for formal consideration; no final vote on ballot language occurred Aug. 4.
