Council approves law-firm engagement for Westfield redistricting

The Westfield City Council approved an engagement agreement with the law firm KGR to conduct the city’s redistricting process as Westfield prepares to transition to a class 2 city.

Danielle Kerry Tolen told the council the city is completing a special census and is arranging for outside counsel to ensure the redistricting complies with state and federal requirements. "We're in the process of completing a special census," Tolen said, and the engagement is intended to make the process "legal and again apolitical," removing the potential for partisan map-drawing.

Tolen said the special census team is currently in the field and staff expect numbers by late October; if those figures are not available in time, the city would have to revert to 2020 census data for map-drawing. She cautioned that receiving census numbers is only one step in a multi-stage legal process required for redistricting.

Council members asked for a timeline and Tolen said staff would circulate the legal team's schedule. After discussion, a council member moved, another seconded, and the council voted to approve the engagement agreement with KGR.

The contract authorizes KGR to prepare and manage the redistricting mapping and legal review; staff said using an experienced law firm will help the city meet statutory deadlines and reduce the risk of legally vulnerable maps. The council did not specify further map-drawing details at the meeting.

The council agreed to proceed with the engagement and requested that staff provide the detailed timeline prepared by the legal team once it is available.