Low census response could cost Utah cities millions

(KUTV) — From the streets you drive on, to your schools, hospitals, and parks — they all rely on money to keep them going.

But this year, the timing of the 2020 Census and the COVID-19 pandemic — and now a schedule change — may leave huge holes in city and county budgets for years to come.

South Salt Lake City Mayor Cherie Wood said:

We will lose millions of dollars as a community.

Kelli Meranda is the director of Promise South Salt Lake, which helps families with everything from free meals to education assistance. The initiative relies heavily on money that’s funded because of the census.

“Having every resident complete the census really gives us a great picture of who's living in south salt lake and what services are needed," Meranda said.

Here's how the funding works

The census counts how many people are in a community telling cities and counties exactly who lives where. Billions of dollars at all levels of government are given out based completely on population. In fact, one group estimates it’s just over $1,000 a year, per person.

So, if you’re not counted, your money disappears for the next 10 years.

“I think what's so important for residents to understand is there's not a do-over for the census," Wood said.

Wood estimates 60% of residents have filled out the census, so far. That’s approximately 18% behind where the city would like to be at this point.

“Our budget is 80% sales tax and property tax," she said.

The state legislature decides how much sales tax money each city gets based on the city’s population. If they don't make up some ground, the city and its budget will really miss out.

“That could be a million, $2 million a year hit, and that's really what helps us provide service to our residents and so that's streets, it's beautifying our community, it's parks, it's trails. It's all of those things that everyone wants to have in their community," Wood said.

South Salt Lake isn't the only city lagging behind. Salt Lake City’s census response rate is 66%, Ogden's is 62% and Moab is at just under 56%.

“Public works, police, fire we're asking them to have conversations with residents as they're out and about. Just reminding people how important the census is to South Salt Lake," Wood said.

South Salt Lake is making a big push with signs, social media, and facilitating conversations in the community.

But COVID-19 has thrown up barriers. Meranda said, “with the COVID pandemic and having some of our public spaces such as libraries and schools closing it made it much harder for individuals to complete the census.”

The city is offering help for those who need it. And city leadership is trying to remind everyone that this count will stick with the city for the next decade.

“Ten years ago we were undercounted by 26%. So we were really looking forward to 2020 and being able to close that gap. And I think COVID’s made that really difficult for us," Wood said.

Another barrier to complicate matters is the federal government's action that moved up the deadline by a month, giving cities and counties only to Sept. 30 to get as many responses as they can.