Current map of Smith County precincts before redistricting. 

Smith County commissioners on Tuesday reached a consensus about a new redistricting map after discussing three options, and a vote is set next week.

Most discussion about the maps was between Pct. 3 Commissioner Terry Phillips and Pct. 2 Commissioner Cary Nix.

Each option included moving voting Pcts. 44, 65 and 48 from Pct. 1 to Pct. 4. Neal Franklin, Pct. 1 commissioner, said that while he’d be giving up a lot of population, it seems like the most logical option to balance the districts.

He said the population in his area will continue to grow, so it’s necessary to give up some of it.

Franklin added that before commissioners finalize a decision on the maps, he would like to hear from Pct. 4 Commissioner JoAnn Hampton, who was unable to attend Tuesday’s meeting.

Nix and Phillips discussed each plan and voiced support for Plan B, which includes moving voting Pct. 22 and a portion of voting Pct. 10 from Pct. 3 to Pct. 2. Voting Pct. 10 would be split at FM 850, giving the southern portion to Pct. 2.

Giving this portion of Voting Pct. 10 to Pct. 2 would change the miles of roads in the two precincts. In this scenario, Pct. 3 would go from having 43.6% of the county roads to 40.8%, while Pct. 2 would go from 18.7% of the roads to 21.5%, said Philip Arnold, attorney at Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta.

Nix and Phillips also agreed that another advantage of Plan B is that it would help prepare for potential population growth in Pct. 3, as it is one of the quickest growing precincts in the county.

With this plan, Pct. 1 would have a population of 56,310; Pct. 2 a population of 60,444; Pct. 3 a population of 56,017; and Pct. 4 a population of 60,708, Arnold said.

The ideal population in each precinct is 58,370.

The standard deviation cannot be larger than 10%, according to federal law. Under Plan B, the standard deviation would be 8.04%.

After a final check to ensure everything is correct, Plan B will posted on the county’s website as the likely redistricting map to be adopted, said County Judge Nathaniel Moran.

Voting on the redistricting map is expected Tuesday.

“If between now and then … if we determine there are other considerations we need to look at or there’s a problem with the map we’re looking at, then we can always push the vote back,” Moran said. “There’s nothing set in stone that says we have to vote next week.”

More information about the county’s redistricting process and the maps being discussed can be found at tinyurl.com/smithcountyredistricting .

Each of the plans discussed Tuesday included:

• Plan A: Voting Pcts. 44, 65 and 48 move from Pct. 1 to Pct. 4 and Voting Pct. 22 moves from Pct. 3 to Pct. 2;
• Plan A (revised): Voting Pcts. 44, 65 and 48 move from Pct. 1 to Pct. 4 and voting Pct. 54 moves from Pct. 3 to Pct. 2; and
• Plan B: Voting Pcts. 44, 65 and 48 move from Pct. 1 to Pct. 4 and Voting Pct. 22 along with a southern portion of voting Pct. 10 moves from Pct. 3 to Pct. 2.