Local governments want to make sure the U.S. Census Bureau gets accurate numbers when it does its decennial population count next year.
Lakewood upgraded its database of addresses and will forward a recent survey of its homeless population to the federal government.
University Place is considering enlisting a citizen committee to help with the count. Puyallup dedicated a staffer to do the same.
In all cases, city leaders want the 2010 Census to get the numbers right. Thousands, perhaps millions, of dollars in federal aid and grant eligibility over the next decade are at stake.
The federal government’s snapshot of America takes place April 1, 2010.
The cities of Lakewood and UP were only four to five years old when the last census was recorded in 2000. Their population estimates at the time of cityhood were higher than the federal government’s count.
“Frankly, we did think there were some people who got missed,” said UP City Manager Bob Jean.
The U.S. Census Bureau tries to work with partners – local governments, nonprofits, businesses – to get the most accurate numbers, said Deni Luna, spokeswoman for the department’s regional office in Seattle. The office covers Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho and Northern California.
For every resident not counted in the census, local governments lose about $1,000 a year in federal allocations, Luna said.
The Seattle regional office will work with 20,000 local governments, nonprofits and other groups to get accurate census numbers on the West Coast.
It will also employ up to 65,000 to 85,000 workers to count – a job that includes surveying addresses and knocking on residents’ doors.
Getting an accurate count can be difficult. In Lakewood, for example, transients are often hard to track down or refuse to fill out the questionnaire, said assistant city manager Dave Bugher.
Lakewood also didn’t have an accurate database of its addresses in 2000. It has since used mapping technology to update its files and will refer the federal government to a survey of the city’s homeless residents.
“Everyone’s trying to get all the data in advance so we won’t miss anything,” Bugher said.
In Puyallup, the city assigned a staffer to work directly with the federal government. City Manager Gary McLean said the city learned from years of working with the state Office of Financial Management, which counts the population of cities and counties every year.
“Simply put, yes, we are ready to make sure that Puyallup’s numbers are accurately reflected,” McLean wrote in an e-mail to The News Tribune.
Luna, the spokeswoman for the bureau’s Seattle office, said it’s hiring people who want to help count and canvass addresses.
She said it helps when local governments are active in the census, even though it’s more than a year away.
“It’s never too early to start,” she said.
Brent Champaco: 253-597-8653
Staff writers Melissa Santos and Steve Maynard contributed to this report.
