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Planner urges parish resolution to split oversized census blocks ahead of 2030
Summary
A consultant recommended the jury adopt a resolution supporting state-submitted census-block boundary changes to split oversized blocks in Grand Lake and Hackberry before the 2030 census; he said one block in the Grand Lake area has "over 500 people," which could skew districting.
Mike Heffner, a demographer with Geographic Planning Demographic Services, told the Cameron Parish Police Jury the parish should pursue census-block boundary adjustments now so districts and precincts can be set cleanly for the 2031 redistricting cycle.
Heffner explained that census blocks are the smallest geographic units used for census data and that some rural blocks in Cameron Parish are currently very large, which can distort district apportionment. "That block has 500 over 500 people in it," he said of a Grand Lake block the consultant recommended splitting. Heffner said the state is now allowing the submission of proposed block changes for the 2030 cycle, with submission windows in May 2027 and May 2028 and a precinct-lock deadline of Dec. 31, 2029, meaning local authorities must act ahead of the 2031 redistricting schedule.
Heffner asked the jury to consider a resolution to include an exhibit showing the proposed block splits when the parish submits the changes to the Census Bureau via the state's process.
