Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, July 06, 2021
Discussion
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDER RECOMMENDATION OF AD HOC SUBCOMMITTEE TO APPROVE AN AGREEMENT WITH BEAR DEMOGRAPHICS & RESEARCH, LLC OF TOLUCA LAKE, CA FOR THE REQUIRED REVIEW OF CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS INCORPORATING CHANGES RESULTING FROM THE 2020 DECENNIAL CENSUS, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $29,000 (CITY COUNCIL)
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I. SUMMARY
On August 4, 2020, the City Council adopted Ordinance 20-008, establishing by-district voting for City Council seats in the City of Carson. The City now must review the adequacy of the adopted districts in light of demographic and population changes in Carson shown in the 2020 United States Census. In March, 2021, the City issued an RFP for a demographer to conduct the update and four proposals were received by the April 22, 2021 deadline.
At the City Council meeting on May 4, 2021, Mayor Davis-Homes recommended that the City Council appoint an Ad Hoc Subcommittee to review the proposals and make their recommendation of demographer to the full City Council. The Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem were selected to be on the committee.
The Ad Hoc Committee created a short list of two demographer firms and conducted interviews of the two firms on June 24, 2021. They recommend that the City Council award a contract to Bear Demographics & Research, LLC of Toluca Lake, CA in the amount of $29,000, in a form acceptable to the City Attorney.
It is anticipated that the initial public hearings, required prior to the publication of any new maps, will be conducted in late 2021, after the receipt of the updated data from the Census, and the revised maps would be available for public review shortly after. Public hearing to consider the maps would be conducted in early 2022; the process has an April, 2022 deadline for the November, 2022 elections.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
1. APPROVE an Agreement for Demographic Services with Bear Demographics & Research, LLC in a form acceptable to the City Attorney.
2. AUTHORIZE the Mayor to execute all documents related to the Contract.
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III. ALTERNATIVES
TAKE another action the City Council deems appropriate.
IV. BACKGROUND
Once the City Council established by-district voting for City Council seats in the City of Carson, the 2020 City Council elections were held by district, with District 1 (Council Member Hilton) and District 3 (Council Member Hicks) up for reelection. Council Districts 2 (Mayor Pro Tem Dear) and 4 (now-Mayor Davis-Holmes) were to remain at-large districts until the current terms for those districts expired in 2022, though the City is required to conduct the Special Election to fill the vacant District 4 seat as a District election.
Cities and other local governments that are divided into districts or divisions are required to review their current district boundaries and redistrict based on the new population figures from the U.S. Census. The City now must review the adequacy of the adopted districts in light of demographic and population changes in Carson shown in the 2020 United States Census. In March, 2021, the City issued an RFP for a demographer to conduct the update and four proposals were received by the April 22, 2021 deadline. However, the 2020 United States Census data will not be available from the State of California until September. Public hearings could be conducted and the analysis of new data would be in October-November, followed by the publication and presentation of draft maps in early 2022.
In March, 2021, the City issued an RFP for a demographer to conduct the update (Exhibit 1) and four proposals were received by the April 22, 2021 deadline. The proposals were scored on Experience, Ability to Meet the Project Schedule, Approach, Cost of Project, and the Overall Proposal. At the May 4 City Council meeting, the Council created an Ad Hoc Subcommittee of Mayor Davis-Holes and Mayor Pro Tem Dear, who first shortened the list to two firms - National Demographics Corp. (NDC) and Bear Demographics & Research - and then conducted interviews.
NDC produced the final adopted map for the Carson City Council 2020 election, and is familiar with the community from working on these maps. They have also worked in other similar-sized cities. Bear Demographics & Research demonstrated significant experience at the statewide level and with much larger cities, such as the City of Los Angeles, and was the only proposal to feature a law firm as part of the project team.
The Ad Hoc Committee conducted interviews of the two demographer firms on June 24, 2021 and recommended that the City Council award a contract to Bear Demographics & Research, LLC of Toluca Lake, CA in the amount of $29,000, in a form acceptable to the City Attorney (Exhibit 2).
Review of Demographic Change
Part of the review will be to examine the current redistricting database and analyze changes in total population and changes in Citizens of Voting Age Population (CVAP) in the protected classes (Black, Latino, Asian-American, and Asian/Pacific Islander) both city-wide and by district. The consultant will determine if overall population growth or decline in any specific district has created “unbalanced” districts (i.e. the difference between the smallest district and the largest district is greater than 10%), and analyze if any of the demographic or population changes have resulted in any constitutionally-suspect districts with either “packing” or “cracking” demographic groups among the currently adopted districts.
As with the preparation of the original maps, the demographer will participate in two public hearings in the fall, and then create at least three updated district maps based on 2020 Census Bureau Data. There would be a number of public hearings after draft maps are produced and are being considered, up to the public hearing where one is considered for adoption. The Scope of Work is summarized as follows:
The Consultant would work with the City Attorney’s Office and City staff on consultant-developed training materials and presentation on redistricting and identify all written tasks that shall be translated into Spanish, Tagalog, and any other languages as needed.
The First Public Hearing would cover the redistricting process, federal Voting Rights Act, California Voting Rights Act, California FAIR MAPS Act, and all other applicable state and federal election laws.
Upon receipt of the 2020 Census and PL 94-171 data, they would finalize and provide data summary and geographic files in standard map and data formats (e.g. ArcGIS, Maptitude, MapInfo, .DBF, etc.) for public distribution with downloadable files available on the City’s website.
At the same time, they would analyze whether the 2020 Census data requires modifications to the City Council districts and report the findings to the City Attorney’s Office and City staff.
The Second Public Hearing would be a presentation of the 2020 Census findings to the Mayor and City Council, including redistricting process updates.
Once the data is released to the Public, the Consultant would evaluate draft maps prepared by the public to determine whether they are population balanced and satisfy the requirements of the Voting Rights Acts, including all other applicable laws, and share findings with the City. They would then work with the City to finalize a written summary of all public input submitted at the public input hearings, in writing, as a proposed map, or during other Mayor and City Council conducted comment periods prior to the release of a draft map.
They would propose new district boundaries to the City based on feedback provided by the community and criteria set by the Mayor and City Council that are population balanced and satisfy the requirements of federal, state, and local laws and finalize the proposed initial draft map (or maps) and accompanying technical report for public release and presentation to the Mayor and City Council.
The Third Public Hearing would be in 2022, where they would present the recommended initial draft map (or maps) and accompanying technical report to the Mayor and City Council during a regular meeting, along with public comment and submitted proposed maps analysis. The proposed draft map (or maps) and technical report will be published seven days in advance in accordance with the California FAIR MAPS Act.
After the public hearing, the consultant would make modifications to the initial draft map (or maps) based on input from the Mayor and City Council and the community in coordination with the City Attorney’s Office and City staff.
The Fourth and Fifth Public Hearings would be comprised of the consultant recommending the revised final draft map and accompanying technical report to the Mayor and City Council along with public comment and analysis of all available public input. Proposed revised final draft map and technical report will be published seven days in advance in accordance with the California FAIR MAPS Act and then the adoption of the final map and ordinance by the Mayor and City Council at a regular meeting. The proposed final map and technical report will be published seven days in advance in accordance with the California FAIR MAPS Act.
The Consultant will also assist the City in all facets of implementing the final district boundary map, including all deliverables needed for the Registrar of Voters to implement new voter precinct boundaries and City Clerk and City Council archives.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
The cost of this contract is $29,000. It is budgeted in the City Manager’s Office Professional Services Account.
VI. EXHIBITS
1. RFP for Demographer Services (Pgs. 5-41 )
2. Contract Services Agreement with Bear Demographics & Research, LLC (to be provided prior to the meeting)
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Prepared by: John S. Raymond, Assistant City Manager-Economic Development