NATCHEZ — A handful of citizens turned out for the public hearing on the city’s redistricting Thursday to view ward maps, receive new census information and voice their concerns about the city’s current redistricting plan.

Resident Casey Hughes said she is concerned that the downtown area does not have one aldermen that represents the entire area. Currently downtown is divided among Ward 1, 3 and 4. She said she believes downtown does not get sufficient representation.

“This is the economic engine of the city and there is no representation,” Hughes said.

Mayor Jake Middleton said Friday he is not for or against having one alderman for the downtown. However, he said he did not believe it was feasible to redistrict in that manner in the limited amount of time city has to submit a plan to the U.S. Department of Justice by November.

Bill Rigby of Holland & Rigby Political Redistricting Consulting, the firm hired by the city to redistrict, was at the hearing to present the 2010 census information and show how it matched up against the current redistricting plan. He said a public hearing is not required by the justice department, but it certainly makes the process more open and fair.

Rigby said a plan is allowed a 10-percent variance from the ideal ward size.

The ideal ward size is a population number found by dividing the total population by six, which is the number of wards in Natchez.

The current ideal ward size for the population of 15,593 is 2,598. The new population data presents a 24-percent variance under the current plan, with ward 3 having the most variance at 11 percent with a population of 2,892.

Rigby said there are many variables that go into drawing ward lines and completing a plan, most importantly making sure total population is basically consistent in all the wards. He said a ward’s total voting age population and contiguous ward lines are also very important.

Rigby said the plan must also avoid gerrymandering, which is the division of a state, county or city into election districts to give one political party a majority in many districts while concentrating the voting strength of the other party into as few districts as possible.

Ward 1 Alderwoman Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis asked Rigby about the stacking and packing concerns the justice department contacted her about in 2001.

Stacking occurs when low-income and less-educated minority voters are stacked in a district with wealthier, higher-educated, non-minority voters to create an illusion of if a minority-majority. Packing is when a large portion of a minority is put into one district thus minimizing its influence in other districts.

Rigby said multiple people worked on the 2001 plan, and he doesn’t remember what happened during the redistricting process.

“I do 50 to 60 redistricting plans every redistricting era,” he said. “I really don’t remember.”

Rigby said he has done submission packets from front to back for some of his clients and just exhibits and maps for others. He said he will work with Natchez City Attorney Everett Sanders on figuring out who does what as the process goes along.

“Everyone does what they’re comfortable with,” Rigby said.

Sanders has said he would like to have the plan submitted to the justice department by Nov. 16. He has also said the department generally likes 60 days to review submissions, but he will ask for expedited review in order to have the plan implemented before election qualifying begins Jan. 1.

“We really have our work cut out for us,” Rigby said.

Rigby said he and the aldermen will review and discuss the concerns of residents and factor them into considerations for the plan.

“That’s one of the reasons I come to the hearings, so I can get a feeling of what’s going on,” he said.

Rigby said right now he is in the process of drawing up plans that work with the new census data.

Rigby said there will be another hearing once plans are drawn up, but no date has been set. Middleton said the public will be given proper notice.