02 Redistrict Assessmnt - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

AGENDA INFORMATION SHEET SUBJECT: Participation in a presentation by Bob Bass of Allison, Bass & Associates, L.L.P., regarding redistricting the City Council districts and consideration of a resolution approving an order finding and determining the need to reapportion the voting districts of the City of Paris. BACKGROUND: The Texas and U.S. Constitution and various federal statutes, including the Voting Rights Act, require political subdivisions of the State of Texas to observe the requirements of One-Person-One-Vote in the voting districts which provide political representation to each of those political subdivisions. In addition, the federal statutes impose a requirement upon said political subdivisions to maintain the One-Person-One-Vote balance after the annexation of additional property, population gains through ordinary growth, or population shifts within their political boundaries. As a consequence, following every ten year federal census, political subdivisions in the state of Texas, including cities, must review their current population and demographic distribution as reflected by the most recent federal census, and make reapportionments of single member district lines to maintain the One-Person-One-Vote balance. The City of Paris has met this requirement in past years, the most recent census reapportionment being done following the 1990 Census. Customarily cities, counties, and school districts retain consultants who specialize in reapportionment to utilize their procedures, data, database, and expertise in proposing new reapportionment lines for adoption by the political subdivision. The use of such consultants (rather than utilizing employees of the political subdivision itself) provides a higher degree of integrity and acceptability to federal officials who must approve the new district lines in conformance with the Federal Voting Rights Act, and the use of consultants also significantly simplifies the process of review and approval. At the time of the 1990 Census, the City of Paris used the services of the firm of Allison, Bass & Associates, L.L.P. of Austin, Texas, to assist in the City's reapportionment. This firm performed similar services in 1990 for Lamar County, with considerable advantages to both the City and the County of incorporating where appropriate and possible common boundaries to avoid as much confusion as possible with regard to polling places and other issues. Lamar County has again contracted Allison, Bass & Associates, L.L.P. to perform its reapportionment process, a process recently concluded. The City of Paris, by Council action on February 12, 2001, retained the same firm of Allison, Bass & Associations, L.L.P. Utilizing the same firm as the County should simplify the process, allow the firm to update the database utilized for the City of Paris in 1990, thereby avoiding duplication of effort, and should allow the firm to coordinate the reapportionment process to the mutual benefit of both entities and their constituents. DESCRIPTION: In order to complete the reapportionment/redistricting process, Mr. Bass has recommended in his materials forwarded to the Legal Department a three (3) step process. Step 1, which involved and required a compilation of significant amounts of documentation and forwarding same to the firm, has been completed by the Legal Department and the City Clerk. The following is a summary of the remaining steps excerpted from Mr. Bass' materials for completion of the process: