The Haines borough is appealing the numbers of the 2020 census. Officials hope to avoid missing out on federal funding opportunities.
The 2020 federal census counted 2080 residents in the Haines borough. This is a drop of about 500 people from the last census.
Fullerton: “But it doesn’t feel like there is 500 people missing from town.”
Alekka Fullerton is the borough clerk.
Fullerton: “We have housing problems, things that don’t look like we’ve lost that many people.”
Fullerton says this matters. Federal funding is based in part on population, and the borough might miss out on some financial support.
Fullerton says the borough looks at land parcels, counts voter registrations and compares that to voter turnout, and checks the number of water and sewer customers in the townsite. This allows the borough to estimate its population. The state of Alaska also keeps track of population number, and the state’s estimate does not show a drop in population.
The borough is basing its appeal on mapping data. They claim the census undercounted housing units by 300. This represents an estimated 800 people that the borough would like to include in its official population number.
Fullerton says the borough has had three years to file the appeal, and she is grateful for the help of the borough’s mapping contractor, and the new planner. The appeal is ready to be filed. The deadline is on Friday.
