The Chatham County Board of Commissioners recently authorized the formation of a temporary task force to study and develop recommendations for possible expansion of the Chatham County Board of Commissioners and how members are elected.

The decision comes amid fast population growth in the county, which is expected to continue, especially with the development of Chatham Park.

As it stands, Chatham County is divided into five commissioner districts, with one commissioner selected from each district. The commissioner must live in the district from which they are selected, but they are chosen by voters from all five districts in the county.

This is known as the district/at large combination method, which is used by several other counties in North Carolina.

The task force, which will be made up of three Democrats, three Republicans, and three unaffiliated voters from Chatham County, will explore the pros and cons of expanding the board to seven members as well as district versus at-large seats.

The deadline to apply to serve as a member of the task force is April 16.

The task force will be appointed in May and is expected to report back as soon as July of this year.

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