BATESBURG-LEESVILLE, S.C. — Monday night town leaders in Batesburg-Leesville talked redistricting, which is something the town said they haven't done in over three decades.
Following the gathering, out of three proposed redistricting maps, Batesburg-Leesville town council members voted to move forward with draft two to be voted on in December and January.
Redrawing the lines was something that needed to be done in this Lexington County town, according to town leaders.
"We have not redistrict since consolidation, which took effect in January of 1993, so we are 31 years with the same districting. So our districts have gotten out of whack. There are three significantly larger and then five that are smaller than what that average should be," Jay Hendrix, interim town manager said.
The town went to the South Carolina Department of Revenue and Fiscal Affairs for two versions of a new map. And then one council member, Steve Cain, went to the NAACP to get another version to be considered.
"I wanted to get input from my district, and also from the other African American districts, everybody in general, but I wanted to give people an opportunity to have a voice in redistricting," said Cain, council member of District 3.
Town leaders said councilman Bob Hall mentioned the need to update and re-balance districts at the beginning of the year.
"The population hasn't grown tremendously, but it has shifted. We have one subdivision that did not exist 30 years ago, and so that was a big shift in one of those districts and that is one of the districts that is much larger population wise than the rest," Hendrix said.
Hendrix said this subdivision, called Summerland, in the south central area, had well over 100 homes built, which needed to be balanced out.
Now, he said the average number of people per district is 659. The council decided to move forward with one of the maps from the Department of Revenue and Fiscal Affairs.
"I think it shows that the town is maturing and council's working together. It's compromise. It's always a give and take with politics," Cain said.
After tonight's action, town leaders said they intend to redistrict every ten years moving forward.
Batesburg-Leesville's next town council meeting is December 9, 2024 starting at 7 p.m.