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Westville Town Council adopts redistricting ordinance, suspends rules to make it effective immediately
Summary
The Westville Town Council adopted Ordinance 20 25 4 to redraw ward boundaries and then voted to suspend the rules to enact it at the same meeting; councilmembers said a county-generated map and legal description guided the changes.
The Westville Town Council voted unanimously to adopt Ordinance 20 25 4, revising the town's ward boundaries for the purpose of conducting municipal elections, and then suspended the rules to approve the ordinance at the same meeting.
Councilmember Albert moved to adopt Ordinance 20 25 4 on first reading; the motion was seconded by Mr. Watkins and recorded as passing 5-0. Albert then moved to suspend the council's rules so the ordinance could be adopted immediately; the second motion also passed by a 5-0 vote.
Council discussion focused on whether the town and county had matching maps and legal descriptions for the new wards. A staff member said, "We've been provided the map by Doug Beegee when this was initially put forth. The map that we were given follows the legal description that we had to adjust. The only thing that we adjusted on the legal description was the overlap between the 2 wards, but not as much the overlap with the exclusion where the 2 wards excluded that corner a lot." The staff member said the map itself remained largely the same and that a county voting office had generated the legal description used by the town.
Councilmembers asked how the county would receive the finalized map and legal description so potential candidates and the elections office would know ward boundaries for filing. The staff member indicated the legal description came from the county voting department and said staff would confirm that the county had the correct paperwork.
The ordinance text, read by title at the meeting, described an update to prior ordinances (listed in the ordinance as "ordinance 82 7" and "ordinance 20 12 8") and stated it divided the town into districts for electing town officers and provided that members of the board of trustees be elected at large. The clerk read the ordinance by title only; no additional amendments were offered during the meeting.
After the votes, Councilmember Albert asked whether anything further pertaining to the ordinance remained; none was raised. The meeting adjourned at 4:04 p.m.
Votes at a glance: Ordinance 20 25 4 — first reading adopted (motion: adopt Ordinance 20 25 4 on first reading; mover: Albert; second: Watkins) — recorded outcome: passed 5-0. Suspension of rules and adoption — (mover: Albert; second: Peforsky) — passed 5-0.
