In a unanimous vote, the Boone County Commissioners approved an ordinance establishing county commissioner districts, shifting sizes based on population growth revealed by the census.
During the commissioners’ Dec. 6 meeting, they discussed the necessity to alter commissioner districts to account for the county’s growing population.
“Boone County has experienced a lot of (growth), particularly in the southeast corner of the county,” Boone County Attorney Bob Clutter said. “And the commissioner districts and council districts were kind of seriously out of whack. At least a couple of them were.”
Clutter said the commissioners are legally required to examine existing commissioner districts and council districts and redistrict them based on population growth the year after the census. Indiana Code 36-2-2-4 states: “District boundaries drawn by the executive must not cross precinct boundary lines and must divide townships only when a division is clearly necessary to accomplish redistricting.”
Clutter said Boone County Commissioner Tom Santelli’s district, District 1, had a significant population increase, thus requiring changes. After a work session, county officials created a map depicting the redistricted districts.
The county is divided into three county board of commissioners districts.
District 1 will include precincts E2, E3, E4, E7, E8, E9, E10, E12, E13, E16, E17, E18, E19 and E20 in Eagle Township.
District 2, Commissioner Donnie Lawson’s district, will include precincts E1, E5, E6, E11, E14 and E15 in Eagle Township and precincts 2, 5, 7, 9, 12 and 15 in Center Township in addition to the entirety of Union, Marion, Clinton, Washington and Sugar Creek townships.
District 3, Commissioner Jeff Wolfe’s, will consist of Center Township precincts 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16 and 17 and the entirety of Harrison, Worth, Jefferson, Jackson and Perry townships.
“It reallocates the populations in each district to about within 300 or 400 people,” Clutter said. “Each district has a little under 24,000 residents.”
The commissioners were expected to consider redistricting county council districts at their Dec. 20 meeting.
“We will be reallocating those so we can rebalance those populations a little more appropriately,” Clutter said.
