HomeMy WebLinkAbout21 CENSUS 2000 UPDATE 05-01-00 NO. 21
05-01-00
I l'i!,
inter-Com' "
DATE:
MAY 1, 2000
TO'
FROM'
SUBJECT:
WILLIAM A. HUSTON, CITY MANAGER
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
CENSUS 2000 UPDATE
ISUMMARY: For more than a year, the Community Development Department has been working with
the U.S. Census Bureau in preparation for Census 2000. The Census is att important community
effort because for each person not counted by the census approximately $100.00 to $150.00 in annual
federal funding is losL The Community Development Department has prepared this report to update
the City Council on the most recent activities relating to Census 2000. Census Day was April 1, 2000.
RECOMMENDATION
That the City Council receive and file this report.
DISCUSSION
The following discussion highlights recent activities related to Census 2000.
Response Rates
The Census'Bureau has published the Census 2000 mail response rates and Compared them
with the 1990 mail response rates and the target rates (5 percentage points above the 1990
response rates).
As of April 19, 2000, the 69 percent Census 2000 response rate for Tustin exceeded the
Census 2000 national and state average response rates and the 66 percent 1990 response rate
for Tustin. However, the 2000 rate in Tustin was below the Orange County rate of 72 percent.
The Census Bureau also published mail response rates at the census tract level as of April 11,
2000. Two Tustin Census tracts, 755.06 (bounded by Newport Avenue, Bryan Avenue,
Browning Avenue and Irvine Boulevard) and 755.09 (Southwest Tustin) had exceeded their
target rates (an increase of at least five percentage points). Census Tract 755.06 had improved
by 6.6 percent and Census Tract 755.09 improved by 9.3 percent. In contrast, the response
rate in Census Tract 525.02 (mostly Tustin Meadows, Peppertree and Laurelwood) decreased
from an "impressive" 84.9 percent in 1990 to a "very good" 76.3 percent in 2000 and was the
only census tract in Tustin that registered a significant decrease from 1990 to 2000. Despite
the decrease, the response rate in Census Tract 525.02 was more than 10 percentage points
higher than the response rate in "the most improved" Census Tract 755.09. Because the
census tract response rates were published while the Census Bureau was still accepting
questionnaires by mail, the rates are preliminary and anticipated to increase. Furthermore,
Census 2000 response rates in the City's split census tracts cannot be evaluated because the
rates reflect collection data from adjacent jurisdictions that share the split census tracts.
City Council Report
Census 2000 Update
May 1, 2000
Page 2
Partnership and Promotion - Complete Count Committee
The City of Tustin is participating in the Government, Business and Media Working Group of the
County's Complete Count Committee.
The sixth, and final, meeting of the Government, Business and Media Working Group is
scheduled at the County Hall of Administration on Thursday, May 11, 2000 at 9:00 a.m.
Non-response Follow-up
The last day to return mailed census questionnaires was April 14, 2000. From April 27, 2000
through June 2000, the Census Bureau will conduct their non-response follow-up operations,
which involve Census enumerators visiting all households that have not returned Census
questionnaires by mail. If a census questionnaire was mailed to the Census Bureau after April
14, 2000, but an enumerator makes a site visit, the household will be required to provide the
information to the enumerator. The household will be required to answer the long form
questionnaire if the long form had been mailed to the household.
Long Form Questionnaire
On April 3, 2000, the City Council expressed concern about many of the questions contained in
the Census 2000 long form questionnaire. The long form questionnaire was mailed out to
approximately one of every six households in suburban areas such as Tustin. A letter was
transmitted to the regional office of the U.S. Census Bureau on April 21, 2000 indicating that many
Tustin residents are questioning the constitutional basis for requesting personal information and
believe that some of the questions are in invasion of their privacy. According to the CensUs
Bureau, every question on the long form questionnaire was approved by Congress and provides
information needed to satisfy federal mandates. The Census Bureau has identified that the
information remains confidential for 72 years.
Web Site Link
The City of Tustin web site is now linked to the Census web site, www. census.gov.
Any questions regarding Census 2000 should be referred to the Community Development
Department at (714) 573-3016 or the Orange County office of the U.S. Census Bureau at (714)
796-4600.
Director of Community Development
SR:\ccreports\Census 2000 update cc report #13.doc