Iowa City officials moving toward possible special census

Iowa City is taking the next step toward possibly conducting a special census.

City staffers on Friday decided to ask the U.S. Census Bureau for an estimate on how much it would cost to get an official update on the city's population, said Adam Bentley, administrative assistant in the City Manager's Office. The estimate will be available within 30 days of the request being submitted.

The city is interested in a special census because it believes its population may have grown enough since the 2010 census for it to get substantially more money from the state's road use tax fund.

That money, which goes toward street and bridge projects, is distributed based on population. Cities receive about $96 per resident in road use tax revenue this fiscal year. The 2010 census put Iowa City's population at 67,862. The Census Bureau estimated it at 70,133 in 2012, but that is not official.

At that population increase and using $96 per resident, the city would get $218,016 more in road use money each year until the 2020 census.

Bentley said a full special census would probably cost more than $700,000. But a partial census, in which only sections city officials believe have shown high growth are counted, also is a possibility and would cost less, he said. The city likely will ask for costs estimates for each, he said.

Once the estimates are returned, city staffers will weigh the cost versus revenue expectations to make a decision, Bentley said.

The city of North Liberty already has a cost estimate for a special census, $160,000, and is likely to pursue the new count. The city's population in 2010 was 13,374, but city officials believe it is now about 15,500.