What is Measure E?

Measure E asks Westminster voters to add an additional half percent (0.05%) sales tax — seen on the ballot as ½% — to secure the city’s financial stability. That tax would be added on to the existing sales tax and would provide an estimated $8 million dollars annually, the authors of the measure say.

Those funds would help close a nearly $9 million budget gap and go to just about every service the city offers, including the upkeep and safety of public parks, protecting local drinking water supplies and supporting local businesses. The authors say the money would also be used to address homelessness by maintaining a new shelter and providing job training as well as mental health and substance abuse services.

The authors of the measure say the tax increase will prevent future cuts to essential services like 911 emergency response, neighborhood patrols, police, firefighters, paramedics and the special units that cover drugs, gangs, domestic violence and human trafficking.

Official title on the ballot: City of Westminster, Westminster Safety, Services Stabilization Measure

Here's what the proposal says:

“To sustain Westminster’s long-term financial stability, restore/prevent future cuts to services including 911 emergency response, police, neighborhood patrols, drug/gang/domestic violence/human trafficking units, firefighters, paramedics; keep parks/public areas safe/clean; address homelessness; protect local drinking water supplies; retain local businesses, shall an ordinance establishing a ½¢ (½%) sales tax, until ended by voters, providing an estimated $8,000,000 annually for general government use, requiring audits, spending disclosure, funds controlled locally, be adopted?”

What your vote means

• A "yes" vote means: You approve the additional half cent sales tax for the city of Westminster. 
• A "no" vote means: You reject the half cent sales tax.

The history behind it

This isn’t Westminster's first rodeo when it comes to increasing its sales tax. In 2016, voters passed Measure SS, which raised the local sales tax by 1%. In 2022, 70% of voters approved a measure that would keep that 1% tax increase active until March 31, 2043, to fund city services (Measure Y). If the 2022 measure hadn’t passed, cuts to the city budget could have closed parks, caused layoffs and eliminated youth and senior centers.

The city is currently facing a nearly $9 million deficit for the 2023-24 fiscal year.

Why is Westminster so financially unstable? Prop. 13 may be to blame, because it locked the city into lower property tax returns decades ago. Another cause could be a historic over-reliance on state redevelopment funds, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Other city revenue ideas like electronic billboards, a city gas station, annexing unincorporated county land and establishing vendor kiosks at the Civic Center have failed to gain council support.

What supporters say

The measure has officially been endorsed by five Westminster residents: a Westminster Police Officers Association Member, a retired police officer, two local business owners and a teacher.

They say that state prisons have been releasing criminals early, contributing to an increase in gang-related crime in Westminster and that a “yes” vote on E will prevent Westminster from becoming “crime-ridden like neighboring cities.”

They also argue that the tax increase is necessary to support local firefighters and paramedics, who need more funding to adequately respond to emergencies, and to address homelessness. Other issues they say Measure E funding will go to include: preventing property crime, keeping police departments that work on narcotics, domestic violence, sex crimes and human trafficking units afloat and improving police training for interacting with people experiencing homelessness and mental illness.

Council member Carlos Manzo had this to say to the O.C. Register about why the city needs the increase:

“As a 35-year resident and for as far as I can remember, the city has always been at a financial disadvantage. We have a low property tax rate that cannot be changed, and funds taken away by the state have left us in a financial crisis… [without a tax increase] we lose our opportunity to finally flourish as a city.” 

• Read the filed arguments in support (last page)

What opponents say

There was no argument formally submitted against Measure E on the ballot. But the O.C. Register's editorial board suggests a “no” vote.

They say Westminster has already asked voters to raise sales taxes multiple times and that if this measure passes, the higher tax would send shoppers to nearby cities with lower sales taxes, thereby defeating the purpose of the tax. The sales tax in Westminster, currently 8.75%, is already on the higher end of city tax rates in Orange County; the new ballot measure would raise that to 9.25%.

City salaries, the Register editorial points out, could be cut if the city needs more revenue — for example, the police chief receives $487,769 in pay and benefits. The city needs to “tighten its belt,” they say, and pass other employee compensation reforms before asking voters to raise sales taxes again.

• Endorsement: Westminster voters should vote No on a sales tax increase this March (O.C. Register)

Further reading

• As financial collapse looms, Westminster puts tax measure on the November ballot (Los Angeles Times)
• Will Westminster Voters Raise Taxes Again? (Voice of OC)