The chances are high that in 15 months every 22,000 residents will have a City Council member they can call their own looking out for concerns in their particular quadrant of Manteca.

On Tuesday without a single objection, the City Council authorized spending $150,000 on demography services to fashion four council districts ahead of the 2022.

The firm of Tripepi Smith is being paid $150,000 to sort through census tract data that aggregates essentially almost by the block for not just population numbers but ethnicity as well as glean from public workshops and other outreach community standards and characteristics that need to be taken into account to recommend particular council districts.

It is not clear in Manteca’s case but often consultants will be able to give elected officials multiple options for district boundaries that don’t run afoul of the California Voting Rights Act of 2002. That means districts must be formed that can increase the odds of minorities being elected to the City Council.

If months from now the council majority balks at moving forward with a redistricting plan not only is the city out $150,000 but one formal objection to not having district elections opens the city for a potential lawsuit. Such lawsuits have never failed and have ended up forcing cities to go to districts anyway after spend significant amounts of money on legal fees.

Forming districts while making sure all council incumbents have seats they can run from in 2022 and 2024 would be straightforward and not require contorting district boundaries. That’s because of how current council members’ residences are spread apart.

Jose Nuno who is up for re-election in 2022 resides in the Union Ranch neighborhood north of Lathrop Road.

Dave Breitenbucher, whose term also ends in 2022, lives in Powers Tract between Manteca High and Spreckels Park, in southeast central Manteca north of the 120 Bypass.

Gary Singh whose term runs through 2024 resides south of the 120 Bypass.

Charlie Halford’s term also expires in 2024. He resides in the neighborhood east of Union Road, north of Alameda Street, west of Hacienda Way, and south of Louise Avenue.

The mayor would still be elected citywide.

Ben Cantu’s term of mayor ends in 2022.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com