One thing Americans can count on is being counted, and nowhere is that more true than in the burgeoning southwest suburbs where at least nine towns are undertaking special counts in hopes of reaping more state tax dollars to cover the rising cost of services.
Special census workers are now or soon will be knocking on doors in Bolingbrook, Frankfort, Joliet, Mokena, Monee, New Lenox, Plainfield, Romeoville and Tinley Park.
Because the towns are experiencing housing booms, officials are virtually certain the special head counts will uncover hundreds, if not thousands, of new residents since the last census was taken three years ago.
And each person added to a town’s official population means more tax money–roughly $100 a person annually–from the state to bolster municipal budgets, some of which are being squeezed hard to cover the cost of services necessitated by development, officials said.
Illinois is one of a handful of states that allocate certain tax revenues based on population.
“There are lots of revenues from the state–income taxes and motor fuel taxes, for example–that are per-capita based, so it makes sense for any growing community to get those revenues now instead of waiting for the next official census in 2010,” said Mokena Village Administrator John Downs.
“As a community grows, more money is needed to offset the costs of increased services,” Downs said. “Any added revenue, therefore, is helpful.”
Special censuses, which booming towns are likely to conduct more than once between the federal census counts taken at the beginning of each decade, cost more than $100,000. That pays a fee to the Census Bureau to administer the process and wages to enumerators hired by the bureau to go door-to-door to conduct the head count.
But the possibility of additional state money more than offsets the cost, officials said.
In Mokena, where officials estimate a count undertaken early in the fall will show the population has grown by 1,600 to 1,800 people since 2000 to more than 16,000, the cost of the special census–about $160,000–“should be recouped [in state tax dollars] in a year or less,” Downs said.
Joliet officials, who have approved spending $194,000 for a special census to begin next month, said the city may be eligible for $800,000 a year in added state money if there’s a population increase of 12,000 residents since 2000 as estimated. That would boost the city’s population from 106,221 in 2000 to more than 118,000, a jump of about 11 percent. Because of its size, Joliet estimates it would reap only about $70 per additional person.
And in Plainfield, the village is paying the Census Bureau $154,000 for a new headcount expected to generate as much as $515,000 in additional state dollars annually. That amount is based on an estimated increase of 5,000 people since the 2000 count of 13,038 residents.
About 60 enumerators have been canvassing Plainfield for the last three weeks and will continue until about July 30, said Michael Hill, a planner who is helping to coordinate the special census.
The other municipalities in the region undertaking special counts also expect to reap a windfall in tax dollars.
In Tinley Park, for example, where the count is expected to get under way in the next couple of weeks, officials expect to find up to 5,000 additional residents since the 2000 count of 48,401 residents.
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That would translate into more than $500,000 in additional revenue each year.
In Bolingbrook, where a special census began last week, officials estimate the population (56,321 in 2000) has grown by 10,000 people, which they say would mean nearly $1 million more a year in state funds.
And in Frankfort, where the count is being limited to areas that experienced the most growth since 2000, officials expect to find 3,000 new residents. That would boost the official population to more than 13,000 and bring in an estimated $336,000 more in state revenue each year.
Because every resident counted translates into dollars for the community, local officials are urging residents to cooperate fully with the enumerators who come knocking on their doors. They are required to carry federal employee identification badges and will seek such information as the number of people living in their homes, their names, sexes and birthdays. The interviews shouldn’t last more than 10 minutes.
Once the special censuses are completed, they will be sent to the Illinois secretary of state’s office for certification. The counts chould be certified by the end of the year.