At their last meeting of the year, the Sevier County Commission approved redistricting plans and a debt management policy, despite the former previously being a point of contention.
Redrawing the county map has been a long process spurred by the 10-year census and overseen by a committee that answered to County and Election Commissions and the School System.  
The goal was to adjust district lines so that each representative body held jurisdiction over an equal number of people.
While the Election Commission and School System quickly approved the new maps, Commissioner Jim Keener found fault in the changes to his 10th District, which includes part of Boyd’s Creek.  
Residents in the areas now covered by a new district will have to travel to Pigeon Forge to vote, where before they were able to vote closer to home.
The county held a special meeting weeks ago to put the new maps on display for the public and answer any questions or concerns residents in the affected areas might have had, but the turn out was low.  Keener, who believed many residents would be upset when they found out about the changes, did not raise any new objections during Monday’s commission meeting when the maps were approved.
The commissioners also approved a new debt management policy as per a state mandate that such a policy be adopted before the end of the year.  According to the official document, the policy “provides guidelines for the County to manage its debt and related annual costs within both current and projected available resources.”  The parameters it sets will affect the amount and type of debt issued by the county.

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