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John C. Stennis Institute of Government
Mississippi State University
Honorable Timothy Kellar Chancery Clerk Hancock County Post Office Box 550 Bay St. Louis, MS 39520
Dear Mr. Kellar:
As the release of the local area data from the 2000 Decennial Census has become available. I’m sure that you and your Board are already contemplating the possibility of redistricting within your county. As you know, the Institute's mission is to assist both local and state government in targeted technical research, and we’re excited about the prospect of playing a role in county and city redistricting. Enclosed, please find a brief descriptive overview of your county, your current beats, and other demographic information gleaned from the 2000 Census data. We’re sending this information both to you as Chancery Clerk and to your local Board Attorney in the hopes that the information may be helpful to your Board. Also, you will find enclosed a potential scope of work and cost estimate that describes how the Institute might assist you and your Board during your upcoming redistricting effort.
At the Institute, we receive a certain amount of money from the Legislature to cover basic operating expenses; as we take on projects for state or local government agencies, we generally recover costs associated with the performance and scope of work of each project. We've calculated our costs associated with basic county wide beat-level redistricting on a sliding fee related to population, in order to fairly assess charges to those counties with disparate populations.
As you and the Board consider this proposal, please feel free to call on my office for any additional information you may require; alternatively, we’ll be happy to arrange a time to meet personally with your Board to discuss this proposal.
Our main office number is (662) 325-3328; please ask to speak with either Mr. Ben Collins, Mr. Keith Smith, or myself, if we can provide any additional information.
Sincerely,
Marty Wiseman, Ph.D. Director
PO Box LV • Mississippi State, MS 39762-5916 • 662/325-3328 • FAX 662/325-3772 • www.sig.msstate.edu