Westminster City Council uses workshop to set 2026 budget priorities, with proposals to freeze senior fees and expand livestreaming

Westminster City Council met in a planning workshop to set priorities for the 2026 budget, hear department needs and collect short "must do/should do/could do" statements from each councilmember to guide staff as they draft the proposed budget.

The meeting opened with an invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance, then a staff facilitator (Staff member, Speaker 3) described the process: councilmembers would take turns offering concise priority statements that staff will compile and use to craft the budget the council must adopt by the end of June for a July 1 start.

On policy proposals, a newer councilmember (Councilmember, Speaker 6) proposed a two-year tax-and-fee freeze for senior residents "to hold us accountable to work within our means," and also urged that council meetings be livestreamed on YouTube to increase transparency. "I would really like to see things live streamed via YouTube," the councilmember said, adding that archived video reduces social-media speculation because the record includes visual context.

Mayor (Speaker 1) emphasized fiscal restraint in other areas, saying the city has lowered property tax millage twice in recent years and urged the council to consider another millage reduction if feasible. The mayor also advocated retaining a 5% transfer from the utility fund to the general fund — a level he said was established after prior years when transfers reached 8–12% to support utility repairs — and described the 5% transfer as roughly equivalent to franchise fees.

Department heads and agency representatives briefed the council on staffing and equipment needs. A public-safety representative (Agency official, Speaker 9) asked for two additional officers, citing high call volumes: "Last year our guys at Anderson had 9,760 calls for service," the speaker said, noting that workload translates to more than 1,200 calls per officer. Fire and public-works staff described aging fleet vehicles and specialized equipment needs: one speaker said new fire apparatus can cost "right at $1,000,000" and have multi-year lead times, and staff noted a bucket truck used for tree trimming is approaching a 20-year lifespan and manufacturer support for parts and maintenance will decline.

Parks and recreation was another recurring priority. Councilmember (Speaker 7) pushed to finish Anderson Park and add inclusive features, asking that the council consider special-needs playground equipment and rubberized surfacing. Staff provided a project-level price that included surfacing of about $350,000 for the playground with equipment included. The council discussed phased contracting and in-house work to reduce costs for picnic-shelter and gazebo repairs; staff said the large gazebo shows rot in perimeter posts and will be monitored monthly while a remediation plan is developed.

Several members urged that council accomplishments — for example, in-house work that saved money on recent projects — be tracked and publicized to show stewardship of taxpayer funds. The facilitator reiterated that department heads present at the workshop will use these priorities in the budget development process and that staff will return with a formal proposed budget later in the calendar year for council consideration.

Procedurally, the council approved a short, five-minute break by voice consensus during the workshop; no formal votes on ordinances or budget measures were taken at the session.

What happens next: staff will compile the council’s priority statements and departmental requests into a draft budget and present it for formal consideration in the coming months, with the goal of adopting the budget by the end of June.