County plans commission redistricting process
On Sept. 7, the Lee County Board of County Commissioners announced the schedule for public meetings at which the community can provide input on the redistricting process and the launch of a website landing page to provide data, maps, information and transparency throughout the process.
Florida law requires each county to examine the need to redistrict every 10 years following the U.S. Census. Members of the commission are elected by voters countywide, but are seated according to the five districts in which they reside.
Four public meetings, including three public hearings, are planned as part of the process as part of the commission’s regularly scheduled meetings, which will be held on the following dates starting at 9:30 a.m. at the Old Lee County Courthouse, at 2120 Main St., Fort Myers:
– Oct. 5: Public hearing to review preliminary map options
– Nov. 2: Public hearing to review map options
– Nov. 16: Public hearing to adopt new map
– Dec. 7: Item on the agenda to certify for transmission to the Florida Secretary of State
The landing page can be found at www.leegov.com/countymanager/redistricting.
Residents also are encouraged to sign up for the county’s newsletter at www.leegov.com by clicking on the envelope icon. Recipients receive meeting notices with agenda links and other information.
Following “Lee County Government” on Facebook also provides updates.
According to the county, the goal of redistricting is to readjust the population between commission districts so that no commission district includes substantially more individual residents than the others. If adjustments are needed, the county can make such changes during an odd-numbered year. Given the late release of Census data, the normal 10-month process will be condensed to about four months.