Mat-Su census returns low

MAT-SU — The Mat-Su Borough is populated by procrastinators.

At least that is what the early results of the 2010 U.S. Census seem to say.

Today is the final day to return the 10-question form by mail before government employees begin knocking on the doors of non-responders.

Alaska currently has the lowest rate of mail participation in the country, and the Mat-Su Borough is lagging behind all of the state’s other major population centers.

The national mail participation rate is 68 percent. Alaska’s rate lags by 11 points at 57 percent. That is low even by Alaskan standards, as the 64 percent participation during the 2000 census still put Alaska in last place.

States in the Midwest are posting the best numbers, led by Wisconsin at 78 percent and Minnesota at 76 percent.

Locally, the Mat-Su Borough has a dismal 47 percent mail participation rate. This is below the 67 percent of Juneau City and Borough, 65 percent of the Municipality of Anchorage, the 57 percent of the Fairbanks North Star Borough and the 48 percent of the Kenai Peninsula Borough.

“That’s very disappointing,” Borough Manager John Duffy said. “When we should be gaining, we are actually losing in the count to these other areas.”

The borough has been among the top 40 fastest growing areas in the country between the 2000 census and now, Duffy said. But local residents have not capitalized on this growth because only the decennial census provides official population numbers.

First and foremost, Duffy said, census numbers determine the districts of state senators and representatives. Duffy predicted the borough could gain one additional senator and two representatives if the growth here is realized in census returns.

State revenue, generated largely by oil sales from the North Slope, is divided among communities based on population. The higher the population, the more money the borough will get from the state and the less it will have to collect from property taxes, Duffy said.

Money from the federal government works much the same way, he said. A lower population count means less money for federal highways and other such projects.

“We are growing very fast. We have all the challenges associated with population gain. We need additional roads, schools and ambulance runs,” Duffy said. “A lower participation rate will mean we get less money to address these challenges.”

By the end of the 2000 census, the borough saw a participation rate of just 54 percent.

All of the same reasons for turning in census forms hold true for cities as well. City council seat boundaries are redrawn after each census, and the cities also receive federal and state money based on population.

Wasilla and Palmer are currently tied with participation rates of 64 percent. Houston is trailing with just 42 percent participation.

Asked why the borough and the state are seeing such low returns, Duffy said perhaps people have forgotten the importance of the census or are worried about privacy.

“There seems to be some concern or mistrust of the government right now. Please try to remember the census goes back to the early years of our nation, and it’s firewalled with very strict protections,” Duffy said. “(Low returns) will haunt us for 10 more years.”

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.