City begins preparing for redistricting

The City Council has begun preparations for redistricting due to the 2020 Census.

At a special meeting on Jan. 25, City Manager Scott Hurlbert explained that although the population in the city has not changed much, there was a shift in the districts. This is because, he said, the labor camp was relocated from one district to another and the inmate population residence before incarceration. Hurlbert explained a fiscal impact statement will be a budget amendment for the work.

Because of AB 2172, the existing law requires that the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation provide the Citizens Redistricting Commission specific information regarding the last known place of residence of each inmate incarcerated in a state adult correctional facility on April 1, 2020 and on each following census day.

Hurlbert provided an update of the four companies interested in bidding for the project of analyzing the census data and coming up with a redistricting plan.

FLO Analytics was selected subject to review and approval by the city attorney at a cost of $33,880 and also authorized the city manager to approve any contingency change orders not to exceed a total of $50,000.

On Oct. 3, 2017, the City Council adopted a resolution outlining the city’s intent to transition from an at-large Council election system to one that is district-based. On Oct.17, 2017, and Nov. 7, 2017, the City Council held public hearings to receive public input regarding the composition of the districts.