The Jonesboro Public Services committee has called a special meeting for Tuesday, May 31 to discuss a proposed map that redraws the city's six wards.
The new proposed ward map is based on 2020 U.S. Census population data. A recent report found that Arkansas and Tennessee residents were severely undercounted in the most recent census.
The data from the City of Jonesboro showed that Wards 1, 2, and 3 in the western part of the city have seen a reduction in population. Ward 2, which consists of Downtown Jonesboro and North Jonesboro, had the largest population shift; loosing 4.47% of its population. The remaining 3 wards have seen an increase in population. The ward with the greatest population growth in the city was Ward 5 in South Jonesboro which saw a growth of 3.47%.
The redrawn map come as voters during the Arkansas Primary elections on Tuesday approved an ordinance to change how Jonesboro City Council members are elected. The new ordinance requires that candidates running for the position 1 seat of the council must be elected by only the residents in ward they represent.
The Jonesboro Sun reports that the city's goal when redrawing ward boundaries every 10 years is for each ward to have roughly 13,000 residents.
The committee meets at 4:40 in the Municipal Building Council Chambers.
