VOTERS in Westminster may get the opportunity to vote on a term limit proposal for mayor and members of the city council (Rob Crandall photo for Shutterstock).

When is a term limit not a term limit?

That question led to a lively discussion at Wednesday’s meeting of the Westminster City Council.

On the agenda was the matter of placing on the ballot for the Nov. 3 general election a measure to go before voters on a proposal to limit the mayor and members of the city council to a total of three terms comprising 12 years.

But Councilman Chi Charlie Nguyen wanted to extend the proposal so that an office holder could serve 12 years on the council and 12 as mayor.

“What’s the point of having term limits if you can serve for 24 years?” asked Councilmember Tai Do. Councilmember Sergio Contreras chimed in, saying that the proposed new limit allowed “too much.” He added, “Who wants to serve for 24 years?”

But Councilmember Kimberly Ho spoke up in favor of Nguyen’s proposal, arguing that a public official who has “done a good job” should be allowed to serve the additional time.

Despite the opposition, a motion to ask the city attorney to put together a revised proposed ordinance that would reflect the additional years was approved on a 4-0-1 vote with Do abstaining. It will come back to the council at its next meeting on July 20.

No action was taken on the matter of hiring Chuong Thai as new city manager. The agenda item on that issue was pulled pending the completion of a background check, which is expected in three to four weeks.

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