Council schedules public hearing on redistricting after dispute over minutes

The City Council voted to schedule a public hearing on proposed single-member redistricting maps at the first November meeting, after an extended debate about whether a motion made at a prior meeting was valid because the minutes had not yet been adopted.

Councilors discussed four map options prepared by the regional planning commission and were told the redistricting review must follow the decennial census; staff noted the update typically takes about a year and the commission suggested the council consider waiting until after upcoming elections so a new administration could weigh in. One councilor said the council previously selected map option one and urged the hearing and final decision proceed; others said the absence of adopted minutes meant the earlier motion could not be treated as binding.

The council agreed to hold the public hearing with the regional planning commission present to explain the maps and take public comment. The council was repeatedly asked to adopt accurate meeting minutes before relying on them for procedural claims; a member moved to table adoption of minutes until corrections were completed and distributed so the record would reflect what actually occurred.

Officials said the next steps are to publish hearing notice (two weeks' notice was cited as required), hold the public hearing, then consider adoption of an ordinance to update the voting plan and submit it to probate court for finalization. The council emphasized that public comment at the hearing could prompt changes to the preferred map option.

The action advances the redistricting timetable but leaves open questions about whether the city will delay until after an election, as recommended by the Planning Commission.