Item 32 - Redistricting Process for Ward Boundaries

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Clerk of the Council Office www.santa-ana.org/cc Item # 32 City of Santa Ana 20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701 Staff Report September 7, 2021 TOPIC: Redistricting Process for Ward Boundaries AGENDA TITLE: Agreement with Bear Demographics and Research for Demographic Services and Public Participation Services Related to the 2021 Redistricting Process (General Fund) RECOMMENDED ACTION Authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with Bear Demographics and Research for consulting services, demographics analysis of census data, drawing of draft maps of proposed ward boundaries, public outreach, and interactive web tools related to the City's 2021 Redistricting Process for a one-year term expiring September 6, 2022 in an amount not to exceed $100,000, which includes the base amount of $71,500 and a contingency amount of $28,500 for additional unforeseen services at the City's sole discretion, subject to non -substantive changes approved by the City Manager and the City Attorney. DISCUSSION Each city with ward -based elections is required to update (redistrict) the ward boundaries every ten years, following the receipt of updated population data from each federal decennial census. It is anticipated that the 2020 federal census will be published and available to the City on September 20, 2021. Since the City of Santa Ana has ward -based elections for six Councilmembers and Citywide Mayor seat, the City is required to redistrict the ward boundaries prior to the next election of Councilmembers in 2022. Councilmember Wards 1, 3, and 5 were on the ballot on November 3, 2020, and Councilmember Wards 2, 4, and 6 will be on the ballot on November 8, 2022. Although the City recently established the ward boundaries on December 4, 2018 for the November 2020 election, the boundaries are based on the 2010 federal census, which means the City must now update the boundaries through the redistricting process based on the 2020 federal census. The United States Constitution requires a census count every ten (10) years of everyone residing in the United States. Census data is used for geographically defining legislative districts in the year following a census.