Newell residents running out of time for electoral boundary feedback survey
By Medicine Hat News on December 1, 2020.
Tomorrow is the last day for County of Newell residents to complete a public feedback survey on potential changes to the county’s electoral boundaries. Changes would involve the electoral maps and reduce the number of divisions rom 10 to seven. That is part of a rebalancing exercise to even out populations in the districts, which currently range from 590 in population to 1,300. Three proposed layouts would see divisions that elect councillors have about 1,000 residents each, but conglomerate some portions of existing districts and move others. Closest to Cypress County, Div. 3 would expand to the southwest towards Brooks in each scenario, while Div. 1, would also gain new rural voters in the far south. Three fewer divisions would also reduce administrative costs by about $150,000 per year. Consultations began on Oct. 28 and the changes need to bee approved by the end of 2020 to be in place for the next municipal election in October 2021. More information is available on the county’s website. 9-8
