COUNTYWIDE : County to Lose Aid Over Census Count

A decision by the U. S. secretary of commerce not to adjust last year’s population count will cost Ventura County at least $800,000 a year in funding, a county official said Tuesday.

County officials estimate that the census failed to count between 4,000 and 6,000 residents, Chief Administrative Officer Richard Wittenberg said. The county will lose about $200 in state and federal money annually for each uncounted person, or between $800,000 and $1.2 million, he said.

Commerce Secretary Robert A. Mosbacher refused Monday to adjust the census count to reflect more than 5 million people who are estimated to have been missed nationwide.

He said the Bush Administration should not abandon the traditional census head count, which the United States has used since 1790. Officials have said minorities are more likely to be overlooked in the traditional count.

Mayors in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and other cities with large minority and poor residents initiated a federal suit against the Census Bureau two years ago to compel an adjustment for an expected undercount.

Ann Hewitt, a senior administrative analyst for the county, said the Board of Supervisors has not decided whether to join the suit or initiate one of its own.