A. Wards. The City shall, by this Charter, be divided into five (5) wards, and one (1) Councilmember shall be elected from each ward, and two (2) Councilmembers elected from the City at large. Based upon a change due to annexation or a change in population, Ward boundaries shall be redrawn by the Districting Commission in accordance with U.S. Census data revised each decade to reflect approximately equal population across the wards. The Districting Commission shall convene and make its report to Council within one (1) year of receipt by the City of final census data.
B. Districting Commission. The Council shall appoint five (5) qualified voters, one from each ward of the City, determined from the registration from the last general election, who shall comprise the Districting Commission. The voters chosen shall not be employed by the City in any other capacity.
The Districting Commission shall file with the Clerk of Council a report containing a recommended plan for adjustment of the Council ward boundaries to comply with the specifications within this Section.
C. Procedure. The procedure for the Council's consideration of the report shall be the same as for other ordinances. It must include both the map and description of the recommended wards. Council may amend or delete the report so submitted, in whole or in part, by a majority vote of Councilmembers so long as the above specifications are complied with.
D. Effect of enactment. The Council shall adopt the ordinance as recommended or amended at least one hundred and eighty (180) days before the next regular municipal election. The new Council wards and boundaries, as of the date of enactment, shall supersede previous Council wards and boundaries, for all purposes of the next election. The new wards and boundaries shall supersede previous wards and boundaries for all other purposes as of the date on which all Councilmembers elected at that regular election take office.
(Amended November 3, 1981; November 5, 1985; November 6, 2018; November 7, 2023.)