VIDALIA — Concordia Parish apparently lost 3 percent of its population — excluding prisoners — over the last decade.

Previous reports said the parish gained 3 percent population, but those numbers from the U.S. Census failed to exclude the prison populations of two prisons on Louisiana 15, which house 1,181 inmates.

Oliver Schulz of Oliver Schulz and Associates and engineering services, who the Concordia Parish Police Jury hired to make its reapportionment plan, explained the parish’s population loss at Monday’s jury meeting.

“The only (population) gain was in the prison — 800 (inmates),” Schulz said. “If you take the prisons out, the parish lost population.”

There are 606 less residents in the parish than there were in 2000, bringing the number to 19,641 in 2010 down from 20,247 in 2000.

The jury adopted a redistricting plan Monday that adjusts districts for the population loss, many of which occurred in District 2.

District 2 juror Willie Dunbar was the only juror who voted against the plan.

Schulz recommended that the Vidalia Meadows and Vidalia Manor apartment complexes on U.S. 84 be moved into District 2 from District 3, adding a total number of 119 people into the district.

District 2, which is a minority district, would contain 31 percent white population and a 66.74 percent black population with the addition of the apartment complexes.

In the state of Louisiana, a district must contain at least 55 percent of a minority to be considered a minority district.

Dunbar criticized the plan because of the more than 100 residents at the two apartment buildings, only 35 were registered voters and none voted in the most recent election.

Schulz said pulling population from the apartment complexes was the only way to prevent Dunbar’s district — which lost 330 based on last year’s district lines — from being racially diluted.

Dunbar pointed out those residents did not vote in the recent special election for the Vidalia Police chief.

Schulz said only 20 percent of the population cast a vote in the recent election, and that the justice department is concerned with population and racial makeup, not voter history.

“I want to keep it like it is,” Dunbar said.

The board voted 8-1 to approve the plan.

The other change the jury adopted was to move people from District 4 to District 5-A.

The proposed area that would move into District 5-A would be the area from Rabb Road to Levens Addition Road.

In other news from the meeting:

The jury unanimously adopted 2011 tax millages, which total 26.58 mils.

• The general parish tax was approved at 2.27 mills.

• Concorida Parish Library tax was approved at 8.5 mills.

• Drainage and public building tax was approved at 10 mills.

• Health service tax was approved at 1.81 mills.

• Council on aging tax was approved at 4 mills

• Acreage and forestry commission tax was approved at 8 cents per acre on timber land.

• Also at the meeting, Dunbar questioned open meeting practices of the Recreation District 3 Concordia Parish board.

Dunbar said the board often meets at specially called meetings instead of during regularly scheduled time.

He has had difficulty attending the meetings because he does not know when and where the board meets, Dunbar said.

Dunbar made a motion to submit a letter about the issue to the district attorney, to which the board approved unanimously.

• The jury approved the appointment of Clarence Hyman to the Human Services District Board to replace a former board member.

• The jury agreed to reappoint Larry Chauvin and Rena Pitts to another term on the hospital board.

• The jury gave its support to Buddy Miller and Larry Chauvin to set up a farmer’s market at the Old Courthouse site.

Juror Randy Temple said the two must seek approval from the City of Vidalia before they go any further.