MARWAN YOUSSEF became the new city manager of Westminster in February.

The ripples from a controversial decision by the city manager to hire a former city council member as a lobbyist will be on display at Wednesday’s meeting of the Westminster City Council.

On the agenda for the meeting – to be held in a virtual format via web conference – is a “legislative consulting contract” with TD Strategies, owned by Tyler Diep, who served on the council from 2008 to 2012 and 2014 to 2018.

He was elected to the state Assembly for the 72nd District in 2018, losing his seat in 2020 to fellow Republican Janet Nguyen.

The city council voted at its last meeting to place an item on the June 9 agenda to cancel the contract after two council members said they had not been informed of the deal, and that City Manager Marwan Youssef had made the decision on his own.

Diep beat the council to the punch by sending a “letter of separation” to Youssef on June 2 ending the agreement, saying the issue was “being exploited by my political opponents on and off the city council at the expense of our city’s best interests.”

Also on the agenda is an item that would reduce the city manager’s spending authority from its present level of $180,000 to $50,000.

The council will meet in closed session at 6 p.m. and open session at 7 p.m.