{"id":371804,"date":"2026-06-23T18:55:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T18:55:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/371804\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T18:55:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T18:55:25","slug":"hotel-tax-hike-letter-to-gkn-aerospace-on-council-agenda-orange-county-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/371804\/","title":{"rendered":"Hotel tax hike, letter to GKN Aerospace on council agenda \u2013 ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE"},"content":{"rendered":"

Westminster<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

CLOCK TOWER at Westminster Civic Center. The English Tudor theme comes from the naming of the city (OC Tribune photo).<\/p>\n

A possible increase in the city\u2019s \u201cbed tax\u201d 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\u2019s meeting of the Westminster City Council.<\/p>\n

The city is considering for the November 2026 election a hike in the \u201ctransient occupancy tax\u201d to raise money for the city treasury. Currently Westminster charges 8 percent, one of the lowest in Orange County.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The deadline for placing a tax increase measure on the Nov. 3 ballot is Aug. 7, 2026.<\/p>\n

Also on Wednesday is a request to direct city staff to draft a letter to GKN \u201cregarding compensation and accountability related to the hazardous materials incident known as the \u2018Western Incident.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The incident took place in Garden Grove, but the evacuation zone included parts of Anaheim, Cypress, Stanton and Westminster as well.<\/p>\n

Of the 50,000 people subject to evacuation, 13,000 of them were Westminster residents.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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