HomeMy WebLinkAboutA005 - Letter from City Attorney to Council dated April 27, 2001 - , City Attorney's Office
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Coring People Ames,IA 50010
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April 27, 2001
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The Honorable Ted Tedesco, Mayor_
And Members of the City Council
Of The City of Ames, Iowa
Re: Annexations, Assignment of Area to Wards and Precincts
Dear Mayor Tedesco and Council Members:
You may recall that last September the Council enacted Ordinance 3585 assigning various annexation
areas to wards and precincts. Since then more annexations have occurred. It has been reported to me
that the C—atn�e��r-},"Auditor wants these areas assigned to wards and precincts as soon as possible.
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The law applicable to this matter is found at Section 372.13(7) and 49.3 Code of Iowa. Section 49.3
states:
,,Election precincts shall be drawn ... by the city council of each city in which it is
necessary or deemed advisable to establish more than one precinct.
Election precincts shall be drawn so that:
1. No precinct shall have a total population in excess of three thousand five hundred,
as shown by the most recent federal decennial census.
2. Each precinct is contained wholly within an existing legislative district, except: a)
When adherence to the requirement would force creation of a precinct which includes
the place of residence of fewer than fifty registered voters. b) When the general
assembly by resolution designates a period after the federal decennial census is taken
and before the next succeeding reapportionment of legislative districts required by
Article III, section 35, Constitution of the state of Iowa as amended in 1968, during
which precincts may be drawn without regard to the boundaries of existing legislative
districts.
3. Except as provided in section 49.4, subsection 3,precincts established after July 1,
1994, shall be composed of contiguous territory within a single county. The
boundaries of all precincts shall follow the boundaries of areas for which official
population figures are available from the most recent federal decennial census.
4. All election districts,including city wards and county supervisor districts, shall be
drawn according to the following standards: a)All boundaries, except for supervisor
districts for counties using supervisor representation plan "two' pursuant to section
331.209, shall follow precinct boundaries. b)All districts shall be as nearly equal as
practicable to the ideal population for the districts as determined by dividing the
number of districts to be established into the population of the city or county. c) All
districts shall be composed of contiguous territory as compact as practicable. d)
Consideration shall not be given to the addresses of incumbent officeholders,political
affiliations of registered voters,previous election results,or demographic information
other than population head counts,except as required by the Constitution and the laws
of the United States. e)Cities shall not be divided into two or more county supervisor
districts unless the population of the city is greater than the ideal size of a district.
Cities shall be divided into the smallest number of county supervisor districts as
possible."
Section 372.13(7) duplicates Section 49.3.
Would the Council like to proceed with another ward and precinct revision at this time? Except when
doing a complete redistricting of the City, the past practice has been to simply add the annexed area
to whatever voting precinct it abuts. However,I am told that the most recent annexation actually abuts
on two precincts in the third ward. Some judgment will be required on that.
A motion of the Council giving direction to the City staff on when and how to proceed with this would
be helpful.
Yours truly,
John R. Klaus
City Attorney
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cc Mary Mosiman, County Auditor