Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Planning Department

TO:	Dave Corliss, Interim City Manager Debbie Van Saun, Assistant City Manager
FROM:	Planning Staff
CC:	Sheila Stogsdill, Acting Planning Director
Date:	August 22, 2006
RE:	US Census Population Estimates Challenge

Staff has previously recommended the City authorize a challenge to the US Census Population Estimates. This memo provides further details on what that challenge should entail.

Participants

Staff has the understanding that Lawrence’s population estimate, and the estimates of the other communities in Douglas County, are shares of the Douglas County estimate. In other words, all of the population estimates of the communities and unincorporated areas of Douglas County must equal the population estimate for Douglas County. An approved challenge that only raises the Lawrence population will not raise the Douglas County population. Rather, it will likely lower the population estimates of the other communities in Douglas County in order to fit the new Lawrence population estimate into the overall Douglas County estimate.

Therefore, staff feels the best course of action will be to challenge the population estimate of Douglas County, as well as the population estimate for the City of Lawrence. This means we will need to include the County Commission in the challenge process as well. If the City authorizes the challenge process, staff will also seek authorization from the County Commission and will also contact other incorporated cities of Douglas County to inform them of our decision to challenge.

Time Commitment

Staff has been working on this issue for the last couple of months. We have already gathered the data, and made the necessary calculations, for the information that we will present in a challenge to the US Census estimates for Lawrence. We are currently in the process of gathering the necessary data from the County and working with the other communities for those aspects of the challenge. That effort won’t take up much more staff time.

Staff has the US Census Challenge packet in hand. Completing that packet will not take much time because, again, we have already completed the data intensive work. All necessary approvals and paperwork would need to be completed by the October 1^st, 2006 challenge deadline.