Council advances new community engagement plan, Access Westminster rollout and event calendar

City staff on Feb. 9 outlined a multi-pronged plan to expand community engagement, including the immediate customer-service portal Access Westminster, a stakeholder-relationship-management tool later this summer, and an engagement portal for long-term projects.

Communications and Parks, Recreation and Libraries staff presented a proposed calendar of 16 high-impact events, recommended mixing in-person and digital outreach (including translated materials and QR-code exit surveys), and previewed a biannual scientifically valid community survey planned for summer 2026. Staff said Access Westminster is already able to track inquiries from initial report through resolution with timestamps and that more complex stakeholder tracking will roll out later.

Council debated protocols for councilor inquiries to staff (staff recommended routing council requests through the City Manager’s office to ensure tracking and to avoid duplicate work), and discussed a cap/threshold (staff proposed approximately a three‑hour research estimate for council-initiated requests before bringing them to council for direction). Members also discussed whether voicemail public comments should be transcribed for the packet or played aloud; the council voted to keep voicemail comments transcribed and included in packets while some members requested playing audio at council meetings.

Councilors also asked staff to return with a proposal for utility-affordability outreach that could include a citizen advisory group or task force modeled on neighboring jurisdictions, and directed staff to align listening sessions with the budget-town-hall schedule. Staff agreed to provide draft governance, timelines and a toolkit for pop-up events for councilors to use.