At the Wheatland County Committee of the Whole meeting, there were discussions on the revision of local electoral boundaries.

Led by Brian Henderson from Wheatland County administration, the committee went into the necessity of updating the electoral bylaw, which hasn't been revised since 2001, to ensure equitable representation as the county gears up for the 2025 elections.

"Upon reviewing the bylaw and just taking a look at the resident count and the number of residents per division, we did realize that just due to coming growth on the west side of the county there has been a bit of a shift per division.”

A comprehensive report presented by the administration shed light on the current demographic landscape, revealing an average of 525 residences per division.

However, the most important difference was between Divisions 5 and 7, with Division 5 boasting 742 residences, significantly higher than Division 7's 387 residences.

"Realistically, in the grand scheme of things, the overall changes proposed by the administration, which there are options for council to consider, they are less sweeping than shrinking divisions,” said Henderson.

“In the general context of this conversation and presentation, the west side divisions would most likely shrink if possible, and the ones on the east side would grow in land area.”

Henderson underscored the non-political nature of the boundary adjustment process, emphasizing its reliance on factual data rather than interests.

Members of the Committee of the Whole accepted the administration's report and potential boundary adjustments and decided to deliberate about it at a later date that has yet to be set by the council.                                                                  

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