JACKSON, Miss. ( WJTV ) – A decision about redistricting in the City of Jackson may be in its final stage.

The Jackson City Council meet at the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District on Thursday to discuss plans to draw new boundaries for the city’s seven wards. This is one way to address population decline in the capital city.

Council President Virgi Lindsay, Ward 7, said the process takes several steps, including a vote by the Council. The next steps include entering a contract with Hinds County Circuit Clerk Zack Wallace for address verification and contacting an engineer to ensure the lines are accurate.

Organizations attended the meeting to voice their concerns, but they were told there would be no public comment.

“The thing that really troubled me most is actually how Councilman Hartley was actually treated. And when he made the case for the people of downtown Jackson and particularly the students at Jackson State University and the businesses that deserved to be properly represented in a city that is more than 80% Black. There are business interests that supersede the interests of the people. And that to me, it was quite troubling to have that response coming back from the council, and it was disturbing to see that he was kind of muted in that process. I think every ward here in the City of Jackson deserves to have equitable economic representation in their planning and in their development. And I don’t think that that was actually present for Ward 5, so I was actually concerned about that,” said Waikinya Clanton, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Councilman Vernon Hartley, Ward 5, is pushing for the expansion of his ward into parts of downtown Jackson. He said his ward has had the largest population loss since 2010.

“We are adding to the population of downtown. We’re adding to the economics of downtown. And the question is, why can’t we be represented? Why can’t we have a seat at the table? And instead of us moving forward today, we actually were pushed back. Instead of looking at adopting some of those options that could balance out the city’s population, it became more important to make sure that those lines between them and us are maintained,” Hartley stated.

According to the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District, each ward must have nearly 22,000 people within the ward.

The Council has narrowed the redistricting plan to on option, and the final deadline is September 1, 2024.

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