At a special meeting Monday night, Akron City Council unveiled proposed ward maps for next year鈥檚 election. After a four percent drop in total population, the ten wards will each average about 19,000 people. But there will be slight shifts in a few boundaries -- most notably around North Hill 鈥 which has increased in population. Council Vice-President Jeff Fusco says that鈥檚 because Akron declared itself a Welcoming City.
鈥淸The] bad news is we鈥檝e lost population; the good news is we鈥檝e gained population in one of the areas of the city, and that鈥檚 primarily due to new Akronites: immigrants and refugees.鈥
The maps were drawn by the same team which drew the new Summit County Council districts, as well as new boundaries for Cuyahoga Falls City Council. Fusco invites public comment about the proposed maps via email to redistricting@akronohio.gov.