Westminster voters to decide four ballot questions

BY LUKE ZARZECKI LZARZECKI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Westminster voters will have four questions to consider on the upcoming November ballot.

City sta presented the ballot initiatives to council at the July 31 study session.

Budget control e rst one is about budget control. Assistant City Manager Chris Lindsey said the city’s annual budget is closing in on a $300 million – much more than Arvada leaders assumed when the city’s charter was rst adopted in 1958. e question will ask whether or not the city manager will be able to move funds to di erent departments.

City Manager Mark Freitag said a previous community he worked for needed additional money to pay for overtime costs for the re department. Since the police department had a successful year staying under budget, Freitag was able to move money from the police to the re department budget.

City Councilor Bruce Baker asked if there was a real world example to bring about the change. Dep. Manager Lindsey said that it comes up often with capital improvement projects when there is a desire to spend di erent money from di erent departments.

Baker asked how the money is

5.00% currently moved, and Lindsey said it comes from city council action, which involves two ordinance readings and sta time to prepare the ordinances. e second question will change the charter to extend for current year expenditures up to July 31. Currently, the expenditures are supposed to be through Sept. 1, Lindsey said.

“Time is money,” said City Councilor Rich Seymour.

It also comes into play when the city has to purchase equipment or ll needs, such as when utiliity work requires buying more asphalt.

However, sta presents the budget to the council on Aug. 31. It takes about two weeks after the end of the month to close out that month’s budget, Lindsey explained, so the budget doesn’t include every expenditure in August and is updated at a later date. e change would provide more consistency, Lindsey said. e third question will allow the city manager to designate an individual other than himself to certify an appropriation that was made in a contract. e fourth question will pertain to publication and mailing notice. e current requirement is that a notice be in a newspaper publication, such as the Westminster Window. is question would amend that requirement by adding the city’s website as an option.

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