EAGLE MOUNTAIN — Eagle Mountain has won its second battle against the U.S. Census Bureau.
As of Sept. 17, the city's new official population for 2006 is 17,391 — instead of the bureau's original tally of 12,232. The more than 5,000 increase will mean more sales-tax money for the city, more commercial appeal and hopefully, more political sway, said Eagle Mountain City Administrator John Hendrickson.
"It's nice to be validated that you really have the growth that you were talking about," Hendrickson said. "It raises awareness that we have quite a few voters out there, and I think the city could realize a little more political clout in regional and state affairs that affect our area. As the city grows, I think it will grow in that (political) area, too."
Hendrickson estimates the city could receive up to $500,000 more a year in sales-tax money, but he said he also hopes the increase in numbers will lead to more funding for roads in the Eagle Mountain area.
The last time Eagle Mountain successfully challenged the census bureau, in 2004, the city's numbers only increased by about 600 people. This year, Mountainland Association of Governments transportation planner Shawn Eliot said he expected the bureau to bump Eagle Mountain's numbers to around 15,000, but the city's data provided a strong argument for a bigger population.
"When the (U.S. Census Bureau) is doing these demographics on a nationwide level, it's easy to have inaccurate information — especially for these small towns," Eliot said.
Provo is also in the process of appealing their 2006 census numbers.
The rate of Eagle Mountain's growth over the past few years is an anomaly that could be overlooked by the census bureau, Eliot said. That growth has continued into 2007, to a population that Eliot estimates could be somewhere around 21,000.
The increase in numbers is good news to Eagle Mountain not only because of the extra tax money the city will receive, but the growth will make the city more appealing to commercial businesses, Eliot said.
"It's a big deal for Eagle Mountain to have the recognition that they are growing and they are a place where businesses want to put their business," Eliot said. "Businesses don't just look at how big you are now. They look at what you've been doing. If they're planning a new store and a business sees this growth rate, they might be more likely to settle there than another city that isn't growing as quickly."
To account for the increase of population in Eagle Mountain, Eliot said the census bureau will most likely increase the overall population of Utah County next spring.
E-mail: achoate@desnews.com