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Manchester Opens Door To Disputing Census Figures
By Lauren Puglisi
Township officials will now be able to call into question the results of the 2010 census, under a plan approved by the township council last week.
At last Monday's public meeting, the Manchester Township Council chose the plan through which the town will take part in the upcoming census.
The early discussion arose because the census bureau is making a number of improvements to the 2010 program. To ensure more effective and accurate data, proposed changes will be tested during a 2008 census dress rehearsal.
And more specifically, the decision allows the township to dispute the numbers.
Township administrator Connie Lauffer admitted that in previous years, there were instances in which the mayor and other officials felt that the census numbers for Manchester were inaccurate.
"Based on the census, Manchester is close to the 40,000 population mark, which shows that there is a continual growth in this township," Lauffer said. "By choosing this option, we will be able to question numbers that do not seem right to us."
Deputy township clerk Sabina Skibo said that the deadline for the option choice was December 31. Township officials wanted to make an early decision to insure that they did not miss the date.
All townships within the U.S. that chose to participate in the dress rehearsal program are given the choice of three options which dictate how census numbers in their area will be calculated.
The Manchester Town Council decided to change their previously used census plan to a plan that allows for major changes to be made by township officials, if there are questionable results.
"I believe that option one is the best choice for Manchester because it will allow for us to do our homework within this project," Councilman Kenneth Vanderziel said. "It is very valuable for our community to have an accurate census because our township is growing."
Options two and three do not permit officials to challenge census numbers, but option one allows for officials in the township to challenge boundary calculations as well as the number of residential units in Manchester.
Councilman Brendan Weiner said that in the 2000 census, he noticed discrepancies with the number of streets in Manchester, which could been a factor that led to questionable census numbers.
"I would love to be an asset to this change in the upcoming census program," Weiner said.
A resolution approving the decision was passed by a unanimous vote.
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