Cost may halt plans for redistricting

Tuesday, Dec. 1, 1998 | 11:52 a.m.

County commissioners must decide whether it's worth $100,000 or more to draw new boundaries before the year 2000.

The commission had approved spending $30,000 to redraw the boundaries. But with the added cost, there's a question now whether the county will bother, or will wait until the census count in two years.

"There's a whole lot more to this game than we ever imagined," said John Schlegel, the county's assistant director of comprehensive planning, who researched the issue. "We simply did not have much experience with redistricting. We put forward our best understanding of how to get this done, and now we know more."

Schlegel would say only the effort could cost more than $100,000, but Commission Chairwoman Yvonne Atkinson Gates said she was told by staff the figure would be $200,000 to $250,000.

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