HomeMy WebLinkAboutPR 22349: ADOPTING CRITERIA FOR USE IN REDISTRICTING THE CITY BASED ON THE 2020 CENSUS P.R.No. 22349
01/04/22 ht
RESOLUTION NO.
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PORT
ARTHUR, TEXAS ADOPTING CRITERIA FOR USE IN
REDISTRICTING THE CITY BASED ON THE 2020 CENSUS.
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Port Arthur has certain responsibilities for
redistricting under federal and state law including but not limited to Amendments 14 and 15 to
the United States Constitution, U.S.C.A.; section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, 52 U.S.C.A.
§10301; Part 1, Art. III, §1-2 of the Charter of the City of Port Arthur, Texas; and Tex. Gov't
Code Ann. §§ 2058.001 and 2058.002; and
WHEREAS, a review of the 2020 census data reveals that a population imbalance exists
among the City's councilmember districts requiring redistricting of those districts; and
WHEREAS, it is the intent of the City to comply with the Voting Rights Act and with
all other relevant law, including Shaw v. Reno jurisprudence; and
WHEREAS,a set of established redistricting criteria will serve as a framework to guide
the City in the formulation and consideration of districting plans; and
WHEREAS, redistricting criteria will provide the City a means by which to evaluate
proposed plans; and
WHEREAS, redistricting criteria will assist the City in its efforts to comply with all
applicable federal and state laws.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AND ORDERED, that the City, in its
adoption of a redistricting plan for councilmember districts, will adhere to the following
criteria to the greatest extent possible when establishing new councilmember district
boundaries:
Section 1. That,to the extent practicable:
1. Easily identifiable geographic boundaries should be followed.
2. Communities of interest should be maintained in a single district, and
attempts should be made to avoid splitting neighborhoods.
3. Councilmember districts should be composed of whole voting precincts.
Where this is not possible or practicable, districts should be drawn
considering county election precincts. Avoid splitting census blocks unless
necessary.
1
4. Although it is recognized that existing districts will have to be altered to
reflect new population distribution in the City, any districting plan should
be based on existing districts.
5. Districts must be configured so that they are relatively equal in total
population according to the 2020 federal census. In no event should the total
population deviation between the largest and the smallest district exceed ten
percent as compared to the ideal precinct size.
6. The districts should be compact and composed of contiguous territory.
Compactness may contain a functional, as well as a geographical,
dimension.
7. Consideration may be given to the preservation of incumbent-constituency
relations by recognition of the residence of incumbents and their history in
representing certain areas.
8. The plan should be narrowly tailored to avoid racial gerrymandering in
violation of Shaw v. Reno.
9. The plan should not fragment a geographically compact minority
community or pack minority voters in the presence of polarized voting or
otherwise discriminate against protected groups so as to create liability
under the Voting Rights Act.
Section 2. That, the City Council will review all plans considering these criteria
and will evaluate how well each plan conforms to the criteria.
Section 3. That, in addition to complying with any other guidelines established by
the City Council, any plan submitted to the City Council by a citizen for its consideration
should be a complete plan—i.e., it should include all four single-member city council districts
and should redistrict the entire City. The City Council may decline to consider any plan that is
not a complete plan.
Section 4. That,all plans submitted by citizens, as well as plans submitted by staff,
consultants, and members of the City Council should conform to these criteria.
Section 5. That,this resolution shall be effective upon passage by the City Council.
READ, ADOPTED AND APPROVED on this day of
A.D.,2022,at a Meeting of the City Council of the City of Port Arthur,Texas,by the following
vote: AYES:
Mayor:
Councilmembers:
2
NOES:
Thurman Bill Bartie,
Mayor
ATTEST:
Sherri Bellard,
City Secretary
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
ecia' 'v. V I- R)2''°-° 740-
G'
Attome
APPROVED FOR ADMINISTRATION:
Ronald Burton,
City Manager
3