Beckley’s five wards are going to look a little different if the council approves a new boundary map designed to create equitable representation for the city’s residents.
During the regular common council meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 26, Mayor Rob Rappold explained that the city has not had an updated ward map for “a number of years.” He continued that Beckley Fire Department Captains Joe Coughlin and Donnie Morgan, along with city treasurer/recorder Billie Trump, have now created a color-coded map featuring the redrawing of ward boundaries.
As a result of their work, the common council will be holding a special workshop on Monday, Nov. 1, at 5:05 p.m. to view and discuss the proposed map, Rappold said.
Trump added that those who worked on the map used data from the 2020 Census to determine the population change of voters over the age of 18 in each household.
“By looking at that and looking at the previous ward map, you could tell that they were quite a bit out of bounds,” Trump noted. He said they were able to “balance those out.”
The proposed ward map has been uploaded to the city’s website at beckley.org. To view the proposed map, click on the residents tab and then ward map.
No action may be taken by council during the workshop meeting, instead, it gives members a chance to discuss the proposed map for possible adoption at a later date.
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