Monroe County
Monroe Commission Approves Plan to Adjust Magisterial District Boundary Lines
Every ten years after each Census, County
Commissions are required to review the population numbers in each of
their magisterial districts. Monroe County has three districts; the
Western, Eastern and Central. WV Code requires the population numbers
in each district to be as equal as possible and the variance of the
population cannot be more than 5%. Based on the 2010 Census figures,
the population for each of the three districts were; Western District
5,045, Central District 4,638 and Eastern District 3,819. The
populations exceed the 5% variance.
About a month ago, the Monroe County Commission
entered into a contract with Jo Vaughan Consulting of Charleston for
the purpose of developing a plan to adjust the county’s magisterial
district boundary lines to comply with WV Code and to get the
population numbers in each magisterial district as close as possible
and within the 5% variance.
Jo Vaughan Consulting submitted a plan and
recommended making the following changes; move Precinct # 3 Bellview
from the Eastern District to the Central District, move Precinct # 5
Locust Grove from the Eastern District to the Central District, move
Precinct #23 Rock Camp from the Central to the Eastern District and
move Precinct #34 Bozoo from the Western District to the Central
District. After making these changes, the population of each district
is, Western 4,603, Central 4,314 and Eastern 4,585.
On Friday, January 6th, the County
Commission held a public hearing to hear input on the plan presented
by Jo Vaughan Consulting. Six individuals attended the hearing.
After hearing comments from the public,
Commissioners Bill Miller and Clyde Gum voted to approve the plan as
presented by Jo Vaughan Consulting. Commissioner Shane Ashley
abstained from voting because he said he would be seeking re-election
and felt it might be a conflict if he voted on the plan.
This new plan is effective for the current
candidate filing period, which began on Monday, January 9th, and runs
through January 29th. An official map reflecting the
changes to the magisterial district boundary lines is available for
review in the County Clerk’s Office.
To see a map of the New Magisterial Districts, please click here.