LEBANON — The City Council will take up the issue of ward boundaries during a public hearing at its meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall where public comment will be taken and the board is expected to act.
According to city code, wards have to be “composed of contiguous and compact territory, as nearly equal in population as possible.”
After the most recent U.S. Census, there is a deviation of more than 8% between Wards 2 and 3, which violates the accepted deviation of 5% or less as required by the state Constitution.
City code calls for Ward boundaries to be adjusted after each federal census
The biggest changes will take place near Lebanon High School, where the boundary lines between Wards 2 and 3 shift from Route 120 and Heater Road eastward to Hanover Street, shifting 170 people into Ward 2.
A second change would be west of Hibbard Brook just north of the Grafton-Sullivan county line where 21 people will be shifted from Ward 1 into Ward 2.
Mulholland said the local boundaries are not political like the changes are at the state levels.
“We don’t have parties at the local level,” Mulholland said. “It’s not like you have that dynamic in play here. It’s a math exercise really. It’s more administrative in nature.”
None of the boundary changes will have any impact on any of the seated councilors.
“It’s not going to change any council seats,” Mulholland said. “They’re all going to be living in their respective wards.”
If passed, the boundary change would take effect May 1.
Darren Marcy can be reached at dmarcy@vnews.com or 802-291-4992.