CARLOS MANZO, Westminster City Councilmember (District 2).

By Jim Tortolano
Orange County Tribune

It was only a few minutes, but it seemed like hours on Wednesday night while Westminster Mayor Chi Charlie Nguyen was considering his decision on whether to support a proposal to ask city voters to raise the “bed tax” charged to visitors to the city’s motels and hotels.

After a long discussion and a presentation on a survey charting public opinion of various proposed increases from the current 8 percent all the way to 14 percent, a motion to put the hike on the Nov. 6 ballot got “yes” votes from two council members.

When it was the mayor’s turn to vote, he was silent. He looked at some papers, wrote something and finally – apparently reluctantly – spoke up.

“For the sake of the city, I vote yes,” he said. The final vote was 4-0 with Councilmember Amy Phan West (District 1) absent.
If approved by voters in the fall, the increase from 8 to 12 percent is estimated to bring the city about $452,000 in additional revenue through what’s officially termed the “transient occupancy tax.”

Westminster has long had among the lowest “TOT” rates in the area. Some neighboring Orange County cities are much higher; Anaheim is at 15 percent, Garden Grove at 14.5 percent and Laguna Beach at 14 percent.

The city has recently had financial problems because of several issues: historically low property tax rates, the decline of revenue from the now-defunct Westminster Mall, and a large “cash only” segment of retail trade.

During Wednesday’s special meeting, councilmembers considered several options. An increase to 14 percent would draw in an additional $678,000, but stood a smaller chance of approval, according to a survey commissioned by the city.

More popular were increases to 10 or 11 percent, but Councilmember Carlos Manzo (District 2) said “At 10 percent you might as well do nothing.”

The next regular meeting of the city council is set for Wednesday, Aug. 12.