How many people live in the tiny country town of Oak City?
Don't ask the feds because the feds don't know. But residents of Oak City have a pretty good idea.The Millard County burg last month successfully challenged the U.S. Census Bureau's 1994 population count of 567, arguing that Oak City in fact has 622 inhabitants.
Documentation came from local membership rosters kept by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose followers make up "at least 90 percent" of Oak City's population, according to Mayor Elzo Porter.
"In our town, we don't have very many people, but 10 percent's a good difference," said Porter.
It marked only the third time in recent memory that a Utah municipality has managed to change the federal government's population numbers, but it might inspire similar attempts around the state in the coming months.
The recount is of local intrigue because it means Oak City gets a bigger share of state- and federal-allocated money.
Natalie Gochnour, an economist for the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget, said the correction translates into another $3,000 in annual state sales-tax revenues alone. The office figures that every official resident of Utah gets back between $50 and $55 annually in sales-tax financed government services.
But that doesn't count the take from other revenue pools, including those fed by liquor and gasoline taxes and the vast host of federally financed programs in place around Utah. Studies suggest the share of federal and state dollars per formally counted person in Utah approaches $200.
"For every person you can get to fill out a census form, it's that much more," said Gochnour.
So it may well be worth it to some towns to challenge current Census Bureau estimates, said Gochnour, who added that college cities are especially vulnerable to undercounts.
The federal government in its latest census report says that in July 1994, Utah County - home to Brigham Young University and Utah Valley State College - had 290,983 residents. The Governer's Office of Planning and Budget counted 299,000.
How to explain a 8,017-head difference?
"We like to think our information is more current (because) we're able to tap into LDS Church data," said Gouchner. Utah County is said to have more Mormons per capita than anyplace.
Other Utah towns where Census Bureau estimates are being questioned include Logan, where Utah State University is located, and Cedar City, site of Southern Utah University.
Both the state and the federal government do town-by-town population estimates every two years. During the 1990s, each tracked similar annual growth rates of around 2.5 percent across Utah, but disparities existed in the separate, raw counts collected in all 29 counties.
The state says Washington underestimated populations in 18 counties and overcounted people in 11 for a total undercount of 8,064, hardly enough to be mad about in a state with a population of 1.9 million.
Still, it's plenty to wonder about if the bad tally is in your town, said state planning coordinator Brad Barber.
Census Bureau counts have been successfully challenged in the past several years in only two other Utah cities - Provo and Woodland Hills. Both are in Utah County.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Miscount?
Top five counties where the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget says federal government undercounted residents in 1994:
1. Utah 8,017
2. Cache 2,636
3. Davis 1,057
4. Carbon 636
5. Tooele 519