Good and bad news for New Orleans. The good news is that Orleans and adjoining St. Bernard, two of the hardest-hit areas from flooding caused by levee breaches after hurricane Katrina, are the fastest growing parishes (counties) in the nation (see story here). The bad news is that the news is not good enough for New Orleans.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, based on births, deaths, and changes of address using IRS and Medicare forms, the Orleans parish post-Katrina population  increased from 210,198 in July 2006 to 239,124 in July 2007. However GCR & Associates placed the city’s July 2007 population at about 281,000 while the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center pegged the population at 302,000 as of July, 2007.

New Orleans officials are not pleased at all and say the city will lose $9.3 million in federal financing during the next three years for every 10,000 residents uncounted by the Census Bureau, and the city is mounting a formal challenge to the Census Bureau’s estimates (disclaimer: I had no part in collecting the data used by the Census Bureau for this population count). 

Looking at the big picture, however, it’s really funny what some folks will do when a U.S.Census Bureau employee knocks or rings the doorbell. Example: car in driveway, air conditioner humming, pitter-patter of the feet, TV blasting. Nobody answers. Or, they don’t have time. Or, say they don’t live at the address. Some people hide out as if the IRS or FBI were after them.

Oh, it can be rather frustrating at times. Like the postman, census workers encounter dogs. But this is not the major obstacle facing the census workers of today. People’s lack of cooperation is probably the major problem. A blunt realization of what results from their lack of cooperation may come sooner or later, but by then it’s too late for their community.

Too late for their beloved city or state to add congressional delegates, or get funding for that street repair work. Too late for that new school they so desperately need, or that developer to know there actually are, in fact, enough families in the area to support the retail stores the developer considered building. Too late for the non-profit community organizations to get enough federal grant money for their programs.

It’s all tied in to the Census Bureau’s data. I like to think of participating in a census survey as a basic American civil liberty akin to voting. A way to have a say-so in government decision-making, and to help us all make informed decisions. Let’s face it – information collected by the bureau is compiled into a database that’s used to calculate how much federal funding goes to a given municipality, how many congressional delegates a state is allowed, and many other things, among them per capita income or cost of living.

Most of us are rightfully protective of our privacy, and for good reason. Identity theft is prevalent in this country. But, many people are also leery of giving Uncle Sam personal information, as though the feds can’t find out as much as they want to about anyone, without using census information. Some people either don’t come to the door, don’t give truthful answers to questions, give intentionally misleading statements, or just plain refuse to talk to a census representative.

If there are more people in a rental household than the lease allows, many folks will not divulge their presence, as if the property owner will find out. Then there are those who feel as if their personal nformation is shared with the IRS. These are myths. Census Bureau data is protected under Title 13 laws, which gives anonymity and protection of any information collected by the bureau.

So, to help with a more accurate population count, city officials throughout the nation should encourage their citizens to help the Census Bureau by cooperating with any surveys, and the next time a properly identified U.S. Census Bureau rep comes knocking, don’t start blocking, because it can affect your quality of life.