Frank Miller
City officials have corrected a minor error in a recently approved redistricting ordinance.
Columbus City Council has voted to approve the first and second reading of an ordinance to amend municipal code regarding city council districts.
The council previously voted in November to approve new council district maps, which will go into effect in 2024.
City Director of Finance, Operations and Risk Jamie Brinegar explained that Bartholomew County officials reached out to Clerk-Treasurer Luann Welmer last week, as they had noticed the city was missing one partial precinct in the redistricting ordinance.
“They asked us to correct that error so that our map matches our ordinance,” said Brinegar. “…We believe this is truly a scrivener’s error.”
“Jeff Lucas at the county had the final map correct, but we missed putting 3100 into the ordinance,” said City Councilman Frank Miller (R-District 4), who was involved with the bipartisan redistricting effort.
Miller also realized late Tuesday that another amendment needed to be made so that the ordinance says “3100 prt” under District 2 instead of “3100.”
The council first voted to amend the ordinance to include this change. They then voted to suspend the rules and pass the ordinance on first and second reading.
All cities are required to review council district boundaries this year in consideration of the 2020 census. Additionally, the creation of a new, sixth district, is included in Columbus’s new map, because the council recently voted to adopt “second class” status for the city of Columbus, which will also go into effect in 2024. The transition entails a number of changes to city structure. One of the most notable is the addition of two new city council members.
Indiana’s second class cities each have a legislative body made up of nine members — six members representing six districts and three at-large members. Columbus City Council is now made up of five district representatives and two at-large.
Under the new map, District 6 will be located in central and north Columbus, with most of its area coming from the current District 4, as well as a small portion of District 3.
Additionally, District 5 will gain a couple of small portions of District 4. District 4 will gain some pieces of District 3. Some areas of District 5 and District 1 will now be located in District 3. District 1 will include some areas that are currently part of District 2, including downtown Columbus and a stretch of Jonathan Moore Pike from the East Fork White River to County Road 350W.
