County discusses new ward boundary
By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Wheatland County administration provided a report to the Committee of the Whole regarding their prior questions about the Electoral Boundaries Bylaw review.
The report was created based on previous discussion at the Feb. 13 committee meeting, as the committee’s questions were noted and summarized.
During the Feb. 13 meeting, the committee was presented with four options for possible electoral boundary adjustments.
Population growth within the county warrants the occasional necessity to redraw the boundaries of electoral wards based on the number of people who live in each area.
This is to ensure population variances between any respective ward is less than 25 per cent, and that as many county residents as possible are accurately represented on council.
According to administration, redrawing boundaries can also reflect both current, as well as future population trends, while adhering to legislative requirements.
Desired outcomes for the redrawing of boundaries include equitable distribution of representation, boundaries that accommodate current growth and future development, and to establish a bylaw that is in line with the generally accepted rule of a roughly 25 per cent population variance.
Despite the redrawing of electoral boundaries being inherently a political process, the goal of the process is to ultimately be as impartial as possible and depoliticize the issue, maintaining paramount focus on the math.
“It is ideal to have a balance between rural and urban sections in a division, but sometimes that just can’t occur into that division, and that is something we would just need to take into consideration as it goes forward,” said Brian Henderson, chief administrative officer for Wheatland County.
Legislative requirements of drawing ward boundaries are outlined within the Municipal Government Act, which governs much of the powers, regulations, and responsibilities held by the county.
A report previously provided by administration to the county indicated an an average of 525 residences per division, with the greatest discrepancy being between Divisions 5 and 7 – which had 742 residences versus 387 residences, respectively.
As boundaries are being redrawn, ultimately the focus is less about the total land area which each ward occupies, and more so is focussed to reflect population numbers and density.
The last time ward boundaries were redrawn within the county was in 2001. The timing of the boundaries to be redrawn this year also takes importance with a county election scheduled to take place in 2025.
More information regarding the potential new ward boundaries, as well as how they were developed is available via the March 28 Committee of the Whole agenda package, as well as through the Wheatland County YouTube channel for those wishing to view the meeting minutes in their entirety.