HUNTINGTON BEACH : Tally May Mean Cut in State, U.S. Funds

The federal census has resulted in a lower population count than expected by city officials, generating fears that the lower total will reduce federal and state funding and worsen the city’s budget crisis.

The 1990 federal census reported that Huntington Beach has a population of 181,519, about 10,000 less than previous federal and state estimates. The “loss” of 10,000 residents caused anxiety in City Hall because many federal and state funds are allocated to cities on a per-capita basis.

The City Council on Monday night agonized over ways to cover a $3.8-million shortfall in the current fiscal-year budget. A smaller city population than originally predicted worsens the outlook for future budgets, city staffers said, adding that efforts will continue to have the official tally revised upward.

“This is something with considerable impact on the city,” said Deputy City Administrator Richard Barnard.

Barnard noted that in the late 1980s, both the federal and state governments estimated Huntington Beach’s population at 191,600. The official federal tally in 1990 came as a shock, he said.

“One of the arguments we’ve heard from the Census Bureau is that possibly the number of individuals living in single-family homes in the city isn’t what it used to be,” Barnard said. “They’ve said that perhaps children have grown up and left the homes.”

Barnard said the city will be examining some block-by-block data of the Census Bureau to see if errors were made. “We know there has been a tremendous influx of immigrants into some areas, such as Oak View, so we’ll be checking to see if the census reflects that growth,” he said.

Barnard, Mayor Peter M. Green and Councilman Jim Silva conferred with federal census officials during a trip to Washington earlier this month. Census officials told them that Huntington Beach could seek another head count, but the city would have to absorb the cost, according to Barnard.