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Council debriefs 2026 budget process; staff to add '3 H' to transparency portal
Summary
Councilors praised the 2026 budget process and town halls, suggested clearer public communication about savings and reserves, and asked staff to add a dedicated '3 H' tile and use existing checkbook tools to make spending more transparent.
During the Nov. 17 study session, Westminster councilors reviewed the 2026 budget development process and suggested improvements to public communication and transparency.
Council members broadly praised the iterative approach and the use of budget town halls. Several councilors asked staff to break budget information into more accessible pieces for the public — for example, clearer explanations of water-plant savings, reserves and surpluses — and to use department-level metrics to highlight gaps and priority needs.
Councilor Zadeh and others recommended a public register for specific tax or program dollars so residents can see where funds are spent. City staff said the transparency portal already includes a live checkbook register of transactions and that new funds (including two funds created to track specific items referred to as '3 H' and a transportation fund) will be added to that portal after Jan. 1. Staff also agreed to more overtly publicize the portal and the new '3 H' tile to demonstrate how funds flow in and out.
Councilors asked staff to continue the transparent monthly budget discussions and to incorporate more actionable department metrics during presentations so council can better evaluate trade-offs during future budget cycles.
What happens next: Staff will set up the '3 H' tile in the transparency portal, include the new funds in the live checkbook register after Jan. 1, and consider council suggestions for clearer, segmented public communications and department metric reporting in future budget cycles.
