The Fort Worth City Council pulled off quite a two-fer in its latest redistricting deliberations: It made the process of drawing a new district map more complicated while exposing the political tension that hangs over the process.

Oh, and it managed to undermine the work done by a city-appointed task force, too.

The city is redrawing council districts, as every political entity must do every 10 years to reflect a new census. This time, it’s also adding two districts, an expansion that promises hope for broader political representation.

A task force made up of council appointees came up with a suggested map that, while not perfect, would accomplish that. Most critically, it would add districts more likely to let Hispanic voters choose a candidate, including in the southern part of the city. It also would consolidate far north Fort Worth, where the population growth has been rapid.

Council members offered their tweaks Tuesday, solving some real problems but also undoing some of the task force’s best work. Then, council members couldn’t even agree among themselves on two rival maps created by council members. So they’ll take both maps to the public for input on Monday and hope somehow to overcome an ideological divide.

Hispanic representation has been lagging for decades in Fort Worth, even as the ethnic group drives much of the city’s growth. District 2’s Carlos Flores is the only Latino on the council, and there’s never been more than one at a time.

One map, supported by progressive council members Chris Nettles and Elizabeth Beck, features one strong Hispanic district and three others in which Hispanics are the largest group. But it doesn’t increase the likelihood that Hispanic voters in south Fort Worth could elect a member of their choice.

The rival map, from conservative Cary Moon, adds two districts with strong Hispanic population numbers — though probably not strong enough to determine the outcome of an election. Moon would also spread north Fort Worth among several districts.

Flores offered the map closest to the task force’s work, but it never stood much of a chance.

The next step is public input on the two maps. But what can voters possibly say to resolve the impasse?

Firming up District 2 as a Hispanic-majority district makes sense. And the large Hispanic population in the south/southeast part of the city is overdue for a chance to elect a council member.

Going forward, the ultimate solution is to improve Fort Worth’s abysmal voter turnout in local elections. Part of the challenge in boosting Hispanic representation is that low turnout means districts have to be greatly stacked for the small number of voters to prevail.

It may fall to Mayor Mattie Parker to cast a deciding vote or lead the way to a compromise. She’s on record as favoring a southern Hispanic-opportunity district.

However it’s resolved, the council’s treatment of the task force’s work is disappointing, as is the curtailing of transparency measures put in place. The council is up against a March 29 deadline to allow candidates enough time to prepare for the 2023 election.

Redistricting is an inherently political process, and few care about the results as much as the people who will put their names on the ballot under a new map. If they can’t find consensus, as previous councils have, they’ll have to slug it out.

But good luck finding citizens to participate deeply in the process next time.