Two council district seats will be on the ballot next year for the City of Paso Robles.
But ahead of that, the city is asking for community input on what the district lines should look like with a public hearing this upcoming Tuesday.
City council members make decisions on housing, economic vitality, and infrastructure among a slew of other items that could impact your overall quality of life.
Now, the roughly 32,000 residents of Paso Robles will once again have a chance to help decide what district they're a part of.
"This redistricting process is quite important," said City Clerk Melissa Boyer. "It allows the constituents of the City of Paso Robles an opportunity to have a voice in how our council districts are formed."
Even though the city is new to district elections, due to being in violation of the Fair Map Act a few years back, the map will soon look a little different once again.
That's because every 10 years, new census data is used to redraw district lines reflecting how local populations have changed.
On November 8 of next year, district seats 1 and 2 are up for grabs. The elected seats will represent the areas for four years.
Meanwhile, the redistricting process must be completed by April 17, 2022.
Until then, community members have four opportunities to share how district boundaries should be drawn to best represent the community.
"It allows for everyone to participate in the local government so I think that's the biggest reason why people should get out and take part in this," Boyer said.
In the end, the council will vote and adopt one of the maps.
The first public hearing will happen on Tuesday at 7 p.m. during the regular city council meeting.
The first two meetings are informational and during the third and fourth meetings, people are able to examine some of the maps that have been submitted.
