SPB ADDS 832 MORE IN REVISED CENSUS

Kathryn Sinicrope
Palm Beach Daily News
February 21, 2002

Eight hundred and thirty-two people reappeared in town Tuesday as the U.S. Census Bureau announced corrected results for the 2000 Census.

The new numbers show there are 1,531 people living in town and 1,865 housing units.

The original numbers, released in March, showed a population of 699, down 52 percent since the 1990 census.

Former Town Manager Dennis White immediately filed a appeal of those numbers, citing town records and information from the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections' office showing 1,362 registered voters in town.

Correct census numbers are important, said Charles Dobbins, the town's new manager, because the town's portion of several revenue-sharing taxes - including the gas tax, all state revenue-sharing taxes and the half-cent sales tax - is based on population.

"These numbers are particuarly important given a town like South Palm Beach, where revenue sources are limited," Dobbins said.

The Census Bureau's Count Question Resolution program staff did not return calls Wednesday, but stated in a letter to the town that certain properties had been included in the wrong census tract.

The error affects the towns of South Palm Beach, Palm Beach and Lantana, according to the letter.

In March, Ed Gore, assistant division chief for field programs with the U.S. Census Bureau, said "boundary problems" might be to blame for the error.

Palm Beach's population before the adjustment was up 6.7 percent in 2000.

Palm Beach Town Manager Peter Elwell said the town has received no notification from the Census Bureau about the population count adjustment. Until then, it would be premature to discuss it, he said. But "the original number was higher than we expected, so the adjustment [downward] is not a complete surprise," he said.