Common Council District Lookup

Date Started: February 2026

Last Updated: February 2026

Initial Contributors:

• Eric Adame
• Tim Liles
• Mel Saffold

Current Maintainer: Mel Saffold

Site: https://syr-common-councilor-lookup.netlify.app/

Project Summary

Info	Answer
Who is this for?	City of Syracuse residents, City staff, and public-facing web users
What does this tool do?	Allows users to enter an address and identify their Common Council district, ward, and councilor
Primary Benefit	Removes guesswork for residents and staff when identifying council representation
Internal Product Owner	Digital Services / API
Departments Involved	Common Council, Digital Services
Public-Facing	Yes (embedded on syr.gov pages)

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Overview of the Tool

What This Tool Does

• Accepts a street address as user input
• Normalizes and parses address data (numbers, ordinals, abbreviations, street types)
• Matches the address against authoritative street range and address datasets
• Displays:
  • Council District
  • Ward
  • Assigned Councilor

If no exact match is found, the tool suggests the closest valid matches.

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Technical Overview

Data Sources

• Embedded CSV-to-JS datasets:
  • data.js (street ranges)
  • data2.js (exact address records, where applicable)

No live API dependency. All logic runs client-side.

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File Structure

/index.html     → Embed-ready markup
/styles.css     → Brand-aligned styling
/scripts.js     → Search, parsing, matching, and rendering logic
/data.js        → Street range dataset
/data2.js       → Exact address dataset (when available)

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How the Tool Works

1. User types an address into the search field
2. Input is normalized (case, abbreviations, ordinals, punctuation)
3. Address is parsed into:
   • House number
   • Street name
   • Street base (without suffix)
4. The tool attempts:
   • Exact address match
   • Street range match (including odd/even logic)
   • Closest-match suggestion using string distance
5. Results are rendered live as the user types

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How to Modify or Extend

Updating Street Data

• Edit or replace the CSV-derived arrays in:
  • data.js
  • data2.js
• Maintain column order to avoid breaking parsing logic

Updating Councilor Names

• Update the COUNCILOR_BY_DISTRICT map in scripts.js

Styling / UX Changes

• All visual changes should be made in styles.css

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Precautions

• Always test changes with:
  • Full addresses
  • Partial addresses
  • Abbreviations (St, Ave, Blvd, etc.)
  • Ordinal streets (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.)
• Test on mobile widths before merging
• Keep language simple and resident-facing

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Known Constraints

• Data accuracy depends entirely on the completeness of the street datasets
• Non-standard addresses (rear lots, informal names) may require manual clarification
• Tool does not validate USPS deliverability - it only matches council data

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Notable Updates

Date	Change	Impact
Feb 2026	Initial release	Residents can identify council representation instantly
Feb 2026	UX + branding refinements	Improved clarity, accessibility, and trust