Hamilton County planning to reshape districts

Hamilton County Commission Chairman Larry Henry said Tuesday that commissioners next week will begin redrawing the boundaries of the commission’s nine districts using the latest census figures.

He said Commissioner Fred Skillern will meet next week with one other commissioner to take the first steps. One of the commission’s two Democrats, Greg Beck or Warren Mackey, likely will be the third committee member, he said.

A date has not been set for the meeting.

“It’ll just be a preliminary meeting,” Henry said. “I wouldn’t have a problem with the public being there.”

Governments at every level, from Congress to the City Council, redraw district lines after every decennial census to ensure proportional representation.

The new County Commission and school board lines will reflect population growth or shifts in the districts.

Henry said Districts 1 and 9, represented by Skillern and Commissioner Chester Bankston, respectively, have the largest geographic areas. He predicted their district lines will move farther north.

Charlotte Mullis-Morgan, Hamilton County administrator of elections, said the deadline to draw up new districts is Jan. 1, 2012. The County Commission must approve new district boundaries.

Staff writer Andy Johns contributed to this story.