Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/westminster-city-council/)
Two former Westminster employees claiming workplace discrimination have reached settlements with a city still weathering corruption and bullying allegations leveled by both former and current city officials.
A local developer will receive a 25-year tax subsidy from the city of Westminster to build a four-star hotel, banquet hall and mixed-use residential project on a vacant lot on the corner of Bolsa Avenue and Brookhurst Street, the city’s first full-service hotel project.
The nation’s highest court decided April 16 it would not review the case, rejecting a petition by Westminster to appeal the 2014 decision by a federal court jury that awarded $3.4 million in damages plus attorney fees to Westminster Police Department officers Jose Flores, Ryan Reyes and Brian Perez.
Residents of the Green Lantern Village in Westminster — many who are senior citizens and Vietnamese refugees — are fighting back against plans by the property owner to close the 130-space mobile home park, which they say would displace more than one hundred families in a county where affordable housing is increasingly scarce.
The ballot measure, which will go before voters June 5, would increase the mayor’s term from two to four years. It was proposed by Councilman Tyler Diep.
Last month, hours before city hall closed for the holidays on Dec. 22, the city of Westminster released an explosive complaint written by its former police chief, Kevin Baker.
Former police chief Kevin Baker, in a legal claim against the city obtained by Voice of OC through a public records lawsuit, compares corruption in Westminster to the city of Bell.
Westminster police officers will get a salary increase each year over the next three years, after the City Council approved a new three-year-agreement for sworn and civilian Police Department employees.
The developer team of the Sheldon Group and Project Dimensions was selected Wednesday by the Westminster City Council to remake the city’s Civic Center into residential, retail and office spaces.
For the first time in years, the city of Westminster will step out of austerity mode and put more money into its budget for staff and services, thanks to an infusion of revenue from the one-cent sales tax increase approved by voters in November 2016.