2005 Minnesota Statutes - 205.84 — Redistricting; cities with wards.

     205.84 Redistricting; cities with wards. 


    Subdivision 1.    General provisions.  In a city 
 electing council members by wards, wards shall be as equal in 
 population as practicable and each ward shall be composed of 
 compact, contiguous territory.  Each council member shall be a 
 resident of the ward for which elected, but a change in ward 
 boundaries does not disqualify a council member from serving for 
 the remainder of a term.  


    Subd. 2.    Effective date.  After the official 
 certification of the federal decennial or special census, the 
 governing body of the city shall either confirm the existing 
 ward boundaries as conforming to the standards of subdivision 1 
 or redefine ward boundaries to conform to those standards as 
 provided in section 204B.135, subdivision 1.  If the governing 
 body of the city fails to take either action within the time 
 required, no further compensation shall be paid to the mayor or 
 council member until the wards of the city are either 
 reconfirmed or redefined as required by this section.  An 
 ordinance establishing new ward boundaries pursuant to section 
 204B.135, subdivision 1, becomes effective on the date of the 
 state primary election in the year ending in two.  


    Subd. 3.    Transition schedule.  The governing body of 
 a city electing more than one council member in each ward may 
 adopt an orderly transition schedule to biennial November 
 elections in which only one council member in each ward is 
 elected in any municipal general election. 


    HIST: 1974 c 337 s 17; 1981 c 29 art 7 s 38; 1983 c 62 s 11; 
 1986 c 444; 1991 c 349 s 38; 1995 c 8 s 6; 1999 c 237 s 3