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Nearly five months after it began its work, the County’s Independent Redistricting Commission has filed an interim report with the County Legislature, summarizing its activities to date.  The Commission is charged with presenting the County Legislature a recommended plan for reapportioning County legislative districts based on the 2010 Census.

Considering an array of alternative maps prepared by staff based on membership of the County Legislature ranging from 13 to 17 members, the Commission as of November 1 narrowed its favored active options to four:  one scenario that would maintain a 15-member legislature, one option for a 14-member legislature, and two for a 13-member legislature.  At its most recent meeting November 16, members, however, decided to drop the 15-district option from its preferred alternatives at this time, since it, in part, would require a number of sliver districts into the Town of Ithaca and would not keep the Village of Cayuga Heights intact.  That option, however, could be restored later.

On November 16, the Commission devoted most of its attention to alternative district lines within the City of Ithaca.  While it reached no final determination, the Commission presented three favored potential options for self-contained districts that would reduce the number of City districts from five to four.  The City’s Redistricting Commission is currently examining the future number and shape of wards in the City, and the County Commission hopes to recommend county district lines within the City congruent with those of the City’s wards.  There was some discussion that the City commission might consider recommending a change in the City Charter to have one alderperson representing an election district, with two election districts per ward—any such change would be subject to a public referendum in the City to change the City Charter.  Members of the County Commission noted that they could abide by any four-district boundaries within the City that would fall within the permitted 10% population deviation among districts.

“In the immediate weeks ahead the Commission welcomes the reactions of members of the County Legislature and the public to our preliminary work,” the report concludes.  “Our plan is to use the month of December to fine tune the proposals under consideration and to then hold one or more public hearings on these recommendations during January.  We will conclude this phase of our work in February and submit our recommendations to the County Legislature by the March 1, 2012 deadline.”

The full Commission report and all scenarios presented (with those under active consideration noted) may be viewed at the Redistricting Commission web site.

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