Akron City Council considers new ward boundaries: Will you be affected?

Some Akron residents could find themselves in a new ward if proposed boundaries are approved in the city’s once-every-decade redistricting process.

While 96% of Akron residents would stay in their current ward, one ward would dramatically shift after experiencing a population boom in the last 10 years.

What wards would change?

Ward 2 showed the most rapid growth in the city, thanks largely to the North Hill neighborhood that operates as a large resettlement area for refugees from across the globe.

While the rest of the city experienced a 4% population decline — from roughly 199,000 to 190,000 — Ward 2’s population jumped, rising from 19,700 to nearly 22,000.

Redistricting guidelines recommend that populations within each ward should fall within a plus or minus 5% deviation from the city’s overall population. By that metric, Ward 2 boundaries must be tightened, reassigning more than 2,000 residents into adjacent wards.

New district maps propose absorbing parts of that population into adjacent wards 5 and 10. Ward 2, which is one of four wards where minorities account for a majority of the population, will retain that status. As a result, wards 2, 5 and 10 are the only wards experiencing major changes.

Ward 10, meanwhile, will have to absorb population from neighboring wards to make up for a dwindling population. With only about 17,600 people in its boundaries, it is the least populous ward in the city — encompassing an area that includes Chapel Hill, Goodyear Heights and part of Ellet.

Councilman Phil Lombardo, whose Ward 2 is most affected by the redistricting, expressed concerns over splitting up North Hill. Other council members also were vocal about the possibility of losing constituents in their current wards.

"I’m losing a portion [of Ward 5] that I’ve had a great relationship with; I've built a lot there," said Ward 5 Councilwoman Tara Mosley, who represents East Akron. "I’m just trying to figure out how I lost it. I'm concerned about that."

This would be a marked change from the previous redistricting process, which largely kept neighborhoods intact within ward boundaries — a process that at-large Councilman Jeff Fusco said Monday was “done right.”

How does ward redistricting work?

Per Akron’s charter — the city’s guiding document — City Council must reassess its ward boundaries every 10 years following the U.S. Census. The most recent wards were established in 2014.

The city hired Triad Research, a consulting group that assisted in the previous redistricting process in Akron and other local municipalities, to present proposed changes to City Council on Monday. Triad was paid $22,000.

While the city's code and charter does not spell out a specific deadline, Fusco told the Beacon Journal the redistricting process should happen before the next election cycle. All City Council members will be up for re-election in 2023, with a primary in May and a general election in November. Their terms expire in 2024.

What happens next?

The boundaries are subject to change as discussions continue. Most council members expressed concern over citizen engagement, suggesting partnering with organizations such as the International Institute to hire interpreters and print materials in various languages to accommodate international residents in the most affected ward.

Ward council members are likely to present to their constituents at upcoming ward meetings, answer questions and collect feedback.

Voters can email redistricting@akronohio.gov with comments and further input.

Reporter Abbey Marshall is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Learn more at reportforamerica.org. Contact her at at amarshall1@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Check out the newly proposed Akron City Council ward boundaries