SUBJECT:
Title
An Ordinance of the Town Council of the Town of Erie Establishing the Town's Election Districts
Body
DEPARTMENT: Administration
Department
PRESENTER(S): Amy Teetzel, Director of Administrative Services & Operations
First Name Last Name, Title
TIME ESTIMATE: 20 minutes
only required for non-consent items
POLICY ISSUES:
Creating, by Ordinance, council districts to best reflect the Home Rule Charter requirements to "...recognize general election precincts and to establish contiguous and compact districts with due consideration given to equal representation and communities of interest."
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Approve the Ordinance that references Home Rule Districting Plan 2.
End
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:
Erie voters approved the Erie Home Rule Charter in the November 2023 election and Boulder and Weld counties certified the election results that same month. The Charter either requires or enables numerous implementation actions. Among the required actions, Article 2.03 requires the Council to create Council Districts by adopting an ordinance dividing the Town into three districts to "recognize general election precincts and to establish contiguous and compact districts with due consideration given to equal representation and communities of interest." As provided in Charter Article 16.03.(3), the ordinance establishing the boundaries of the Council districts shall be effective on or before May 9, 2024, which is at least 180 days prior to the Nov. 5, 2024, election.
To provide the Council with district options to consider, and to be consistent with the Charter requirement that changes to Council districts be "made after considering recommendations from an independent expert with experience in the field of redistricting who is unaffiliated with the Town of Erie," the Town retained Magellan Strategies. The consulting firm has worked on redistricting efforts for more than 20 years in Colorado.
Staff and ...
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