As the Chattanooga City Council prepares to hold its final vote on redistricting maps Tuesday afternoon, some local voters are continuing to voice their apprehension about the process.
The council is expected to approve the nine-district map during its 4 p.m. meeting this afternoon. The group voted 7-2 last week to send the proposed maps to a final vote.
Council members Demetrus Coonrod, of Eastdale, and Isiah Hester, of Washington Hills, voted against the measure last week, raising concerns about the timeline and transparency of the process.
In a Monday statement, the Hamilton County Voters Coalition asked the council not to vote on the matter and to restart the redistricting process to provide more time for public input.
"In the spirit of compromise and in recognition of the public process that the Council has followed since March 1st, we respectfully request that council hold a strategic planning meeting devoted to bringing the public up to speed on what factors the city considered when moving people from one district to another," said Theresa Turner, co-chair of the coalition, in a statement.
Turner did not respond to requests for comment by phone or email Tuesday morning from the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Some council members - including Carol Berz, of Brainerd Hills and who chairs the redistricting committee - defended the council's process in drawing the new maps.
"There was proper following of the process and in my opinion, I'm only one of nine, there was adequate notice and adequate process," Berz said during the April 26 meeting.
The proposed map can be viewed online at bit.ly/ChattaRedistrict.
Contact Wyatt Massey at wmassey@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249. Follow him on Twitter @news4mass.