CLOCK TOWER at Westminster Civic Center. The English Tudor theme comes from the naming of the city (OC Tribune photo).

A possible increase in the city’s “bed tax” paid by hotel guests and a letter to the GKN Aerospace for its role and responsibilities in the May hazmat incident top the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting of the Westminster City Council.

The city is considering for the November 2026 election a hike in the “transient occupancy tax” to raise money for the city treasury. Currently Westminster charges 8 percent, one of the lowest in Orange County.

Anaheim charges 15 percent, Garden Grove 14.5 percent, and Laguna Beach 14 percent. Huntington Beach is 10 percent and Orange at 10 percent. Los Alamitos is at 8 percent.

The deadline for placing a tax increase measure on the Nov. 3 ballot is Aug. 7, 2026.

Also on Wednesday is a request to direct city staff to draft a letter to GKN “regarding compensation and accountability related to the hazardous materials incident known as the ‘Western Incident.’”

The incident took place in Garden Grove, but the evacuation zone included parts of Anaheim, Cypress, Stanton and Westminster as well.

Of the 50,000 people subject to evacuation, 13,000 of them were Westminster residents.

The letter would ask GKN to accept responsibility for the impacts of the incident and reimburse the city for its costs and compensate residents and businesses for losses.

The council will meet in closed session at 4:30 p.m. and open session at 6 p.m. in its chambers at 8200 Westminster Blvd.