INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The County Commission today completed its redistricting process that evens out the population in the county’s five commission districts and smoothes out some jagged district boundaries. Because of uneven growth, commission districts had become lopsided over the past 10 years.
“I think the County Commission has gone above and beyond in terms of making the process transparent and open to the public,” County Attorney Alan Polackwich said.
The redistricting process, which was triggered by the 2010 census, began in July and has included four public hearings and several workshops to inform county residents and solicit public opinion about the plan developed by county staff.
District population varies as much as 12,000 between District 1, represented by Commissioner Wesley Davis, and District 5, represented by Commission Chairman Bob Solari.
Under the plan approved today, all five districts will be similar in size. District 1 is still the largest, with a population 28,262, while District 5 remains the smallest with a population 27,042, but the differential is now only about 1,200.
Before redistricting, District 1 was 16 percent larger than the average if all districts were the same size, while District 5 was 25 percent smaller. With the new boundaries, District 1 is 2.3 percent larger than average while District 5 is 2 percent less than average.
Commissioners said at earlier meetings they wanted all districts to be within 3 percent of the ideal average.
As he has throughout the process, Commissioner Wheeler noted all commissioners are elected at large and represent all citizens of the county, which significantly reduces the political significance of the redistricting.
