Approved Redistricting Map
On November 2, 2021 at the Common Council meeting, a public hearing was held regarding redistricting, where the public was given an opportunity to speak and give comments concerning the options presented.
After discussion from residents and alders, the Common Council voted to approve the “Red Plan”, which divides the City into 27 Wards and four (4) aldermanic districts.
This change will be effective for all elections beginning in 2022.
Redistricting Process
The United States conducts a census of the entire population every 10 years. This information is used for many purposes, including the distribution of federal and state revenues and the drawing of boundaries for election districts at the federal, state and local levels.
Wisconsin law requires that once the census data becomes available, local governments and the state legislature are required to adjust the boundaries of election districts so that they are as equal as possible in population. Due to modifications to processing activities, COVID-19 data collections delays, and the Census Bureau’s obligation to provide high-quality data, states are expected to receive 2020 redistricting data by August 16, and the full redistricting data with toolkits for ease of use will be delivered by September 30. The Census Bureau will notify the public prior to releasing the data.
Counties are first required to develop a tentative supervisory district plan for their county boards. After that, municipalities are required to revise the boundaries of election wards and then their city council districts. Subsequently, school districts and the state legislature are also required to update the boundaries of their election districts. Final election wards and aldermanic districts will be adopted by the Common Council.
Aldermanic Districts Task Force
The purpose of the Aldermanic Districts Task Force is to study and gather public input on how many aldermanic districts and how many alderpersons per district there should be in Sun Prairie and to make a recommendation to the City Council on that issue. It does not include drawing ward or aldermanic district boundaries.
Any changes regarding the number of alderperson districts and number of alderpresons representing each district would be implemented as part of the redistricting following the 2020 Census. Read the resolution here.
Aldermanic Districts Task Force Community Survey
The task force members believe the public should be informed of its options and the pluses and minuses of each option in order for the public to be able to get input. The task force received 372 responses from the public survey. Survey results will help the task force learn what the residents of the City of Sun Prairie think about the current number of alderperson districts and number of alderpersons per district and possible changes to the structure of city governance.
Survey results are available here.
Other resources