Commissioners to evaluate districts

Kickoff to be held in May

The Gunnison County commissioners will revisit their district boundaries this summer, as required by state law. Changes are evaluated every ten years following the federal census to ensure that the population in each district is as equal as possible, minus individuals serving sentences in county correctional facilities.

The board has until September 30 to approve district revisions, but according to county attorney David Baumgarten, any formal “action of the board in making these changes has to be preceded by a public hearing, at least 30 days before a resolution.”
At an April 12 work session, Baumgarten advised the commissioners to start by scheduling a kickoff, inviting the local political parties and any other individuals integral to the planning process.
 The board agreed, citing the crooked nature of current district lines—sometimes jumping from street to street after only a block or two—as incentive to simplify boundaries and create as much consistency with voter precincts as possible.
“We should try to make it as straight as possible,” commissioner Phil Chamberland said.
“There’s an arithmetic reason for [drawing the lines],” Baumgarten agreed. “But there’s also an appearance reason for doing it.”
The board will schedule a kickoff meeting during the board’s May 10 work session and will invite representatives of the local political parties, county clerk and recorder Stella Dominguez, and county managers, to develop a snapshot of current districts, changes in population and factors to be considered in implementing changes. The public hearing will be scheduled for the end of July or the beginning of August.