Nick McWilliams reporting – City officials in New Philadelphia have decided to keep their ward districts for at least the next 10 years.
Following census counts every decade, cities can redistrict their wards to evenly spread population count in each section for each council member.
Law Director Marvin Fete relayed to council that the city had some wards that were noticeably bigger in terms of population than others, and asked for input from all members of council.
He says that deviations that are 10-percent or larger across wards must be justified by Ohio Revised Code, using sound reasoning to argue the redistricting would not be necessary at that time.
Councilman Kelly Ricklic was in favor of keeping their maps the same for the next 10 years, pointing to rising coronavirus numbers as a reason to avoid making face-to-face contact at homes for population count.
“We’d have to go door-to-door, to find out how many people live there. I think it’s not a wise thing to produce at this time. That’s a rational decision, that to due to the health of our population, I would like to leave it alone for 10 years, until the next census.”
Councilwoman Cheryl Ramos, meanwhile, said that she felt the city could handle their own redistricting, and avoid what were projected to be high costs to do the work through an independent firm.
Ultimately, council voted to keep their current ward maps, with Ramos and Councilman Mitch Pace voting no. Fete went on record to say that the Ohio Secretary of State’s office could intervene and deem a redistricting necessary if they so choose, with the deadline for proposals being in October.
Other cities, such as Dover, have also opted out of the redistricting for various reasons.
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