A shift in population is forcing the Greenville City Council to redraw the city’s district lines.

Data from the 2010 census shows that Greenville’s population climbed from 7,220 to 8,135. It also shows that District 1 gained 463 people, while District 4 has added 104 people since the 2000 census.

“This isn’t something that we are taking action on right now,” Greenville Mayor Dexter McLendon said at Monday night’s city council meeting. “All we are doing is introducing our plan.”

The council’s plan involves shifting 510 residents out of District 1 and another 134 out of District 4, while adding 411 to District 2, 54 to District 3 and 179 to District 5.

Because the City of Greenville operates under what is known as a single-member district, meaning each of the city’s five districts is represented by one commissioner, federal law dictates that each district have the same number of voters or be within a 10 percent deviation of each other.

District 1 is currently the city’s most populated district with 2,090 residents. District 2 has the lowest population with 1,306 residents.

The proposed changes would decrease District 1’s population to 1,580 and increase District 2’s population to 1,717.

A public hearing will be held Sept. 26 at 4 p.m. at City Hall to discuss the council’s proposed redistricting plan.

Council Members

District 1 – Jean Thompson

District 2 – Ed Sims

District 3 – Tommy Ryan

District 4 – James Lewis

District 5 – Jeddo Bell

Current Population by District

District 1 – 2,090

District 2 – 1,306

District 3 – 1,584

District 4 – 1,731

District 5 – 1,424

Proposed Population by District

District 1 – 1,580

District 2 – 1,717

District 3 – 1,638

District 4 – 1,597

District 5 – 1,603