At their Feb. 16 meeting, the Windsor Town Council will complete the third of four required public hearings on redistricting, receive a long-range fiscal forecast identifying a structural deficit and consider the concept of a veterans memorial wall on the Town Green.
Redistricting
The Feb. 16 council meeting will serve as the third of four public hearings required to complete its redistricting process. The council is expected to open and continue a public hearing until March 2, at which point time final maps could be adopted.
After the last public hearing Jan. 24, during which the council reviewed three map options, the redistricting consultant has prepared additional maps and is considering nine maps submitted from the public. The consultant, however, will not have analyses of the new maps completed until Feb. 18.
“In order for the consultant to properly analyze the publicly submitted maps and provide the council with sufficient time to review the maps, staff recommends this hearing be continued to the regularly scheduled meeting of March 22, 2022,” the agenda report reads.
Redistricting is required per federal and state election laws following the release of U.S. Census Data every 10 years. Windsor drew its current maps in 2019, under threat of lawsuit that it violated the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) by marginalizing Latino voters through its former at-large system, a claim confirmed by a consultant’s study last year.
More information on Windsor’s redistricting process can be found at the Town of Windsor’s Redistricting page, which includes an online mapping tool, and in the following articles.
For more information on the process, see this article, which includes links to past reporting.
Long-range fiscal forecast
In October 2020, the town council hired Management Partners, a consultant, to assess the near-term economic impacts of COVID-19 and to forecast longer-range fiscal trends. Presenting in January 2021, the consultants identified a long-term structural deficit.
At the upcoming meeting, Management Partners will provide a forecast using an updated version of the fiscal model used last year, incorporating revisions to key revenue and expenditure assumptions. However, according to the agenda report, a long-term fiscal gap in the General Fund continues.
The presentation, including financial forecasts, is included in the agenda report.
Military Veterans Memorial Wall at the Town Green
The town council could, by motion, approve the concept of a Military Veterans Memorial Wall for the Town Green, and provide staff direction on preferred design options, according to Parks and Recreation Department Director Jon Davis.
The veterans memorial would add to existing programs honoring veterans, such as the Hometown Heroes Military Banner Program, which has 81 banners around downtown honoring local active-duty men and women. Hall Park was named after Chief Warrant Officer Michael A. Hall, who died in the Gulf War, and the Town Green stage is named after Rear Admiral Bennett Sparks.
“Historically, the Town of Windsor has supported programs and projects honoring military veterans,” the staff report reads.
