April 25, 2024
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Eight is enough: Yorkville will not add aldermen

City to reapportion its four wards to reflect 2020 Census results

By Mark Foster

This architect's rendering shows the plan for the new Yorkville City Council Chambers at 651 Prairie Pointe Drive. The city will be moving its offices when renovations are complete later this year. What will not change is the size of the city council. Aldermen have decided to retain the current arrangement of eight council members, two each from four wards. (Image provided)

YORKVILLE – Eight is enough for the Yorkville City Council.

Aldermen have decided against increasing the size of the council to 10 members.

The council voted Jan. 11 to remain at eight aldermen, two each from four wards.

City officials had contemplated the increase as part of a required ward redistricting that is resulting from the 2020 Census.

Yorkville’s population now stands at 21,533, meaning that under state statute the council could have added one or even two wards, increasing its size to 10 or 14 aldermen.

Aldermen quickly ruled out an expansion to 14 but were giving serious consideration to an arrangement with five wards and 10 council members.

To gauge community opinion the city posted an online survey asking residents if they favored an expansion to 10 aldermen or to stick with the current system.

The survey was posted for several weeks, with 108 residents ultimately registering an opinion. The result found 70% in favor of retaining eight aldermen.

City Administrator Bart Olson said the boundary lines for the four wards will yet need to be redrawn, in order to reflect changes in the geographical distribution of the population.

The goal will be to bring each ward as close to 5,383 residents as possible.

Reapportionment takes place every 10 years in order to reflect population changes resulting from the Census.

Ten years ago the city’s population had reached 16,921 and expanding to five wards with 10 aldermen was an option, but city officials then too decided to stay with the existing arrangement.