Kyle directs consultant to draw illustrative redistricting plans after assessment finds 3 districts out of balance

Kyle City Council on Sept. 17 directed outside counsel and consultants to produce illustrative redistricting plans after a staff briefing found the city’s three single‑member districts are out of balance under the 2020 census.

Kavi Caputo of Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta told the council the top legal criteria are the constitution’s one‑person/one‑vote rule (total population) and the Voting Rights Act Section 2, which requires the city not adopt an election system that discriminates on the basis of race or ethnicity. He said courts expect a top‑to‑bottom population deviation generally within 10 percent and that using 2020 PL 94‑171 census block data is the legally reliable starting point for plan drawing. Caputo said the city’s current configuration produces roughly a 21% top‑to‑bottom deviation under the 2020 counts, with District 2 overpopulated by about 1,900 people and District 4 underpopulated by roughly 1,500 people.

Councilors discussed options: (1) instruct consultants to rebalance the existing three districts now; (2) send a system‑change question (increasing the number of single‑member districts) to the charter review process and then redraw if voters approve; or (3) pursue both actions in parallel. City attorney Amy Alcorn Reid noted changes to the city’s form of government or the number of single‑member seats would likely require charter review and, if the charter is amended, a voter approval step.

After questions about growth‑adjustment techniques and legal risk of non‑census data, the council voted 7–0 to direct Bickerstaff to prepare illustrative plans that rebalance the three current single‑member districts and for staff to return with an amended contract option if the council wants additional mapping (motion by Councilor Heizer; second by Council member Parsley). Councilors emphasized public outreach and the possibility of a separate ad‑hoc or charter committee to review options before final action.

What’s next: consultants will prepare illustrative plans using census block data and staff growth projections; the council will receive those maps and decide whether to adopt criteria or refer changes to a charter process.