Electoral District Redistricting
Indiana Code requires that all cities update the boundaries of their council districts every 10 years. The redistricting process must occur in the second year after a federal census is conducted. Districts must be contiguous, reasonably compact, and, as nearly as possible, be of equal population. The final decision on the boundaries of council districts is made by a majority vote of the City Council.
In January 2022, Mayor Jeremy Stutsman introduced Ordinance 5116 to the Goshen City Council to establish a Redistricting Advisory Commission. The purpose of the proposed Commission was to make recommendations to the Council regarding district boundaries. The structure of the Commission was designed to create an independent, objective and non-partisan process in drawing new council district maps.
The Redistricting Advisory Commission consists of five voting members and four non-voting members. The voting members are appointed be each council person representing a district with the two at-large council members serving on the Commission as non-voting members. The Goshen Mayor and City Attorney are also non-voting members.
Ordinance 5116 placed certain restrictions on the requirements to serve at voting members. These restrictions were designed to ensure that, to the extent possible, all voting members would be acting on behalf of the community at large in a non-partisan manner. The Committee conducted four public meetings in June and July of 2022 and unanimously voted to forward a preferred recommendation to the Council, with one alternate recommendation.
The Redistricting Advisory Committee presented the final report to the City Council on July 18. The Council accepted the recommendation and then passed Ordinance 5131 on first reading. The ordinance includes the preferred option and an alternate. It is anticipated that a final selection will be made by the Council in August.
Read the PowerPoint presentation here.
