Census takers still needed: North Liberty special census sees slight delays

NORTH LIBERTY - As North Liberty officials gear up for a special census to update the growing community's population count, they have come across one major speed bump: not being able to secure enough employees to count residents.

Tracey Mulcahey, North Liberty assistant city administrator, said U.S. Census Bureau officials say they need several hundred applications in order to hire 55 enumerators to conduct population counts.

More than a month has passed since the city began accepting applications and there still is a ways to go. Mulcahey said roughly 60 applications have been received so far.

'We're not even close,” Mulcahey said. 'We've done everything but smoke signals, we have continued ongoing marketing on our website, our Facebook page, anytime I can talk about it I will. The Census Bureau will do recruiting as well when they get here.”

A lack of applications has pushed the special census start date back roughly one month, with city officials hopeful to officially begin counting residents by late August/early September.

That said, efforts to begin the population count continue to move forward. On Tuesday the North Liberty City Council approved a lease for temporary office space at 555 W. Cherry St. to house office equipment and phone lines for the enumerators.

Nick Bergus, North Liberty communications director, said the $8,500 lease will allow the city occupancy of the space until the end of November.

Other than the installation of an interior dividing wall, which will cost the city $750, the space will soon be ready to house census employees, Bergus said.

Enumerators will be paid $13.55 an hour, plus mileage and paid training and will be tasked with visiting residences to collect information about each household member, their age, name and relationship status. Enumerators are asked to work a minimum of 25 hours per week, with availability for days, evenings or weekends.

Census officials are expected to arrive in North Liberty Monday and after another recruiting effort, the three-day training process will begin, Mulcahey said. If the city cannot bring in enough applications, population counts will proceed nonetheless.

'What will happen is it will just take longer to get the counting done, it will just be fewer people working longer,” she said.

Mulcahey said it's hard to say exactly why the city has had such trouble attracting applicants, but she said it's likely the area's low unemployment rate coupled with North Liberty's residential demographic, which includes a large population of young couples with children who likely have busy home lives.

While the 2010 count by the U.S. Census Bureau found North Liberty's population to be 13,374, officials estimate the city now has more than 17,000 residents.

The cost of a special census estimated to be about $310,000, but could generate an additional $280,000 annually in road use tax revenue, which is based on population. With February changes to the state gas tax, that revenue is anticipated to be even higher.