The St. Charles City Council has narrowly decided to keep the new ward boundaries it enacted last month for next April’s council election. A bill to repeal the new lines was defeated Tuesday on a 5-5 tie vote.

In a debate before the vote, supporters of the new ward lines reiterated that they need to be changed now so next year’s election isn’t run using boundaries that don’t reflect big population jumps on the northern and southern parts of town since the 2000 census. Those increases were due mainly to construction of the New Town and Talbridge complexes.

Beckering

“They’re already out of whack, folks,” said Councilman Dave Beckering of the 7th Ward, who chaired the committee that did much of the work on the new map. “We need to have balance in the wards so people are equally represented.”

He also alleged that the repeal effort was “being done for political purposes.”

Councilman Michael Weller of the 5th Ward, who introduced the repeal bill after voting for the new lines last month, said it makes more sense to wait until after next year’s federal census is completed.

“It would be more current, more accurate,” Weller said of the census data.

Weller

Half the council seats - representing wards 6 through 10 - will be up for election in April. The other half - from wards 1 through 5 - won’t be filled again by voters until 2011.

Mayor Patti York also spoke in favor of keeping the new lines, saying the council can change them again after the census if it wished to do so.  “If you have to do this every two or three years, you do it,” she said.

She added that it’s unlikely the census numbers will be available even in time to redraw lines before the 2011 election. For the current redistricting, the council relied on population estimates compiled by city development staffers.

Joining Beckering in voting against repealing the new lines were Richard Veit of the 1st Ward, Council President Larry Muench of the 2nd Ward, Bob Kneemiller of the 4th and Erv Ermeling of the 10th.

Joining Weller in voting for repeal - and reverting to the old lines - were Laurie Feldman of the 3rd, Jerry Reese of the 6th, Michael Klinghammer of the 8th and Ron Stivison of the 9th.