The United States Constitution mandates a decennial count of all persons living in the U.S with the primary purpose of determining how many congressional representatives each state will have for the next decade and to ensure equal representation in the redistricting process.
Census data can shift power between the states as a result of population increases and decreases. As a result of the 2010 census results the State of Florida gained two congressional seats raising the total number of U.S. Representatives apportioned to the State of Florida to 27. Florida is projected to gain additional U.S. congressional seats after the 2020 census.
In addition to the potentially increasing the U.S. congressional seats from Florida, population counts and statistics derived from the census determine the annual allocation of approximately $700 billion in federal investment across states, counties and cities, including public funds for educational programs, healthcare, law enforcement, infrastructure, and transportation.
The City of North Miami Beach (the “City”), as a potential recipient of the aforementioned federal funds, has an interest in ensuring that the population count is accurate.
Studies have shown that certain hard-to-reach populations such as lower-income families, immigrants, racial and ethnic minorities, non-English speakers, renters, rural residents, transitory residents, residents who live in non-traditional housing, and children under the age of five are increasingly difficult to include in the census count and the City is comprised of a disproportionate share of populations that are most frequently undercounted.
It is anticipated that the City will face additional challenges to obtaining an accurate count during the 2020 census due to proposed changes by the Census Bureau, including the use of self-reporting via the internet, the inclusion of an untested question regarding citizenship, the reduction of the number of local census offices, and the reduction of the number of field staff following a mandate to conduct the 2020 census at a lower cost per household than in 2010.
An undercount of the City and the State of Florida’s population would have far-reaching consequences that could shift the number of congressional seats the State of Florida receives after the 2020 census and result in the potential loss of billions of dollars in federal funding.
In an effort to combat the challenges and ensure that the City makes a concerted effort to obtain an accurate count during the 2020 census, it is recommended that the City create a Complete Count Committee (“CCC”), an advisory board to the City Manager and the City Commission, for the purpose of identifying strategies to ensure that that every person in the City is counted in the 2020 census, with an emphasis on those hard-to-reach persons that make up a large part of the City’s diverse population. |