information collected through the Decennial Census becomes obsolete around mid-decade in growing metropolitan areas. It is our belief that the development of a Mid-Decade Census could help to keep Census information up-to-date. Although we have tried various local approaches to augmenting the U.S. Census through use of local resources, such as the school district census of children, building permit records, et cetera, we have found this information of limited utility because it is difficult to collect on a uniform basis throughout our region, it does not have accuracy and reliability we have come to expect from the U.S. Census, and the data does not represent a direct count or sampling of the total population. For these reasons, we make this plea for reconsideration of the proposed MidDecade Census. We realize there may be many difficult technical problems to tool up for a Mid-Decade Census at this time, however, even if the Census were of relatively limited scope as contrasted to the Decennial Census, it would still provide data of significant value to us in our planning efforts. Sincerely, MICHAEL N. KAISER, Executive Director. JACKSONVILLE AREA PLANNING BOARD, Hon. RICHARD M. NIXON, President of the United States, The White House, Washington, D.C. MR. PRESIDENT: The recent negative decision of your Administration to support a mid-decade census is of great concern to our agency, as it will impede the efficiency of our services to the Federal, State and local Governments. Current census data is extremely essential in planning and review programs. Estimates prepared beyond a five-year period from the present decennial census tend to become projections with subsequent increased inaccuracies. It is not surprising that over 1,600 special censuses were conducted by request of local authorities between 1960 and 1970. Therefore, as a regional review agency for the Federal Housing and Urban Development Department, an area review agency for the State of Florida, and a planning and review agency for the City of Jacksonville, our services to these governments would be decidedly more efficient with the addition of a quinquennial census. In view of these facts and the overwhelming support voiced before congressional committees, we strongly urge that the Administration reconsider its action and give strong affirmative support to a mid-decade census. Respectfully yours, MARVIN C. HILL, PIEDMONT TRIAD COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS, Hon. RICHARD M. NIXON, President of the United States, DEAR PRESIDENT NIXON: I am disappointed and greatly concerned that the Administration is not endorsing the mid-decade census as favored by the SubCommittee on Census and Statistics, chaired by Congressman Charles H. Wilson. The Piedmont Triad Council of Governments, the most urban of seventeen multicounty planning regions in North Carolina, strongly supports such a census. I am confident that other regional councils in the State and throughout the country would support my views. The increasing growth and movement of the population requires a continuous updating of changing data. A quinquennial census on population and housing would enable city, county, state, and federal government to provide more accurate demographic, economic, social, and spatial statistical information with which to determine exactly what existing conditions are, support programs of work, and enable sound courses of action to be developed and implemented. The statistics on population and housing are a vital basis for policy decisions concerning land use, employment, social services, area density problems, water and sewer needs, public service and facility needs, and environmental control. Increasing complexity of these decisions in designing and implementing public programs at the federal, state, and local level demands a more current and accurate census. These statistics are important in allocation of federal grants that are based upon population, housing, age distribution, and small area data. With an increasing number of new federal programs, the need for up-to-date information is intensified. At the regional level a mid-decade census would enable regional councils to better serve and coordinate the activities of local governments and the citizens within their regions, as well as to better predict future needs and establish more realistic goals and objectives in functional program planning. The cost of the mid-decade census would be well worth the investment in the intangible value of efficiency and accuracy in not only in the public sector, but also in the private sector. Private business would be vitalized by using a more qualified basis for establishing labor needs, investment possibilities, budget allocations, site selection, demand for goods and services, and other important areas of concern. You have already shown an interest and concern by forming a Commission on Federal statistics and establishing the Commission on Population, Growth and the American Future. I hope you will strengthen your interest by weighing the importance of gathering mid-decade statistics so as to prevent a stagnation of viable and useful information in the nation. I encourage the endorsement of a five-year census and herein establish my support of Congressman Wilson in his efforts. Sincerely yours, LINDSAY W. Cox, Executive Director. The PRESIDENT, MACON-BIBB COUNTY PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION, The White House, DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: After following with great interest the call for a middecade census, I was very disappointed to learn that administration support for this endeavor has been withdrawn. As a professional planner, I can attest to the overwhelming need for current census data. Too often we planners have been frustrated in our efforts by having to rely on outdated information. Even now, we are still awaiting a great wealth of data to be processed by the Bureau of the Census. Upon delivery this data will be almost two years old. Your administration has recognized the necessity for planning at all levels of government. What we ask you to do is strengthen this most important of planning tools. If the call for a mid-decade census is ignored, this will severely hamper the effectiveness of this important resource. We look to the federal government in this matter because it is apparent that state and local efforts to collect small area data on their own are subject to stringent financial and personnel limitations. I urge you to reconsider your position regarding this matter and lend your support for a U.S. census in 1975. Sincerely yours, CRAIG W. LINDELOW, Executive Director. SOUTHEASTERN WISCONSIN REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION, The PRESIDENT, The White House, DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: We have noted that on June 10, 1971, the Administration through the person of Dr. George Brown, Director of the Bureau of the Census, formally withdrew its support for a mid-decade census to be conducted in 1975 and every 10 years thereafter. With all due respect for the scale of natonal and international issues which you must keep in balance with current 63-434-72-13 and projected fiscal resources, we would respectfully request that you reconsider this issue for the following reasons: 1. The massive population shifts into and within the urban regions of the nation have precipitated massive demands for new and expanded public facilities and services, have caused significant inter- and intra-regional employment shifts, and have triggered increased concern over social and environmental issues. The decennial census presently provides a consistent, reliable, and comprehensive bench mark of data on a national, state, regional, and small area basis. These data, available every 10 years, have for the most part been made comparable over the years so that the data when analyzed provide quite useful input with respect to the decisions regarding public works improvements and public facilities expansion needs. The most serious limitation of the decennial census data, however, is the frequency of its availability. Data series with 10 year bench marks leave serious gaps to be filled by "current estimates" prepared by a variety of interest groups for a variety of purposes and which can only be considered crude at best. During times of rapid social, economic, or demographic change, such as the recent history this nation has witnessed, there is little question that more frequent availability of comparable statistical data, such as that which would be provided from a mid-decade census, would greatly enhance the quaility of local development decisions and reduce the potential for making poor decisions which might be predicated on less reliable data. 2. In the process of "tooling up" for the conduct of the 1970 census, many urban and metropolitan areas of the nation prepared, in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of the Census, a street address coding guide (ACG). The availability and use of these guides greatly facilitated and unquestionably economized the conduct of the 1970 census. Subsequent to the conduct of the 1970 census, additional data cataloging techniques have been developed which have resulted in vastly improved street address coding guides through the identification of geographic coordinates at street intersections. The insertion of these coordinates into the ACG file provides a geographic base file (GBF) reference which will not only facilitate the economical retrieval of the census data, but also permit the efficient and economical mapping of these data. Both the ACG and the GBF were developed with the objective in mind of repeated utilization so as to facilitate the amortization of the development costs over a period of time. There is little question that these geographic reference tools, developed at considerable cost to enhance and economically utilize census data on a sustained basis, will fall into disuse if a mid-decade census is not conducted or if they must wait until 1980 to be applied once more. 3. Accurate and reliable demographic and economic data are essential to sound land use planning, transportation planning, community facility planning, community utilities planning, and most areas of private planning. Although the decennial census data provide 10 year bench marks for these data needs, most application requirements for many federal programs call for "current data." These requirements frequently precipitate a flurry of data collection activity, often entailing a variety of "special" surveys, many of which are underwritten by still other federal programs. In the alternative, frequently the required data are literally thrown together as "current best estimates." For example, by 1969, it was almost impossible to compile an adequate evaluation of the racial mix of Milwaukee's "Inner Core" because of the many varied, frequently unsophisticated, and always extensively qualified statistical manipulations of the 1960 census data. The same malady exists with respect to family income data and household and family size data. A more frequent census of population, including at the minimum such data on population by age and race, households, and income and family size is urgently needed. 4. Numerous aid fundings at the federal, as well as the state, level are tied to "official census counts." There is little doubt that the increased frequency of such official counts would greatly increase the sustained equity of the distribution of funds tied to such counts in that a more frequent census will facilitate a more perceptive and objective evaluation of changing social and economic conditions. Moreover, a more frequent census would provide the data upon which the aid programs themselves might be assessed, both those in existence and those not presently in existence but warranted by changing conditions. 5. Associated with the census of population has been a census of housing. It seems unlikely that any real or "felt" need for housing will be able to be satisfied without a more thorough and frequent data base from which problems can be identified and upon which decisions to alleviate such problems can be predicated. There is little question that the federal statistical program, which has taken giant leaps toward maturity in recent years, and the decennial census effort initially and currently required for congressional reapportionment, have provided some of the most useful and important data series upon which more and more local decisions are being based. The speed of change in the urban and metropolitan areas of the nation has triggered a growing but more frequent need for just these kinds of tools to make better decisions. The high calibre expertise needed to gather these statistical data rests with the U.S. Bureau of the Census. Moreover, attaining the degree of accuracy and reliability required and the comparability of the data at various geographic levels over time can only be accomplished through a national effort. Consequently, we would strongly encourage your renewed support for the conduct of a mid-decade census of population and housing to be conducted in 1975 and every 10 years thereafter. Respectfully yours, KURT W. BAUER, GULF REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION, The PRESIDENT, The White House, Washington, D.C. MY DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: Our attention has been called to the position stated on June 10, 1971, at a hearing conducted by the House Subcommittee on Census and Statistics of the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, indicating that the Admiinstration at this time does not recommend a mid-decade census. As spokesman for this planning_agency, representing a geographic region slightly larger than the State of Delaware, a population of more than onequarter million persons, experiencing rates of growth as high as 186% for a single municipality during the decade 1960-1970, I respectfully request a reconsideration of the issue. To repeat all of the statements made by the many witnesses who have appeared before the Subcommittee is hardly necessary. We share the same concerns, and would derive the same values from a mid-decade census. There are, however, some additional circumstances which heighten our concern and make our situation somewhat unique. First among these is the devastation resulting from Hurricane Camille in August, 1969 to which you and the entire Administration responded magnificently. The losses resulting from that natural disaster, both in economic activity and population distribution, were reflected in the 1970 Census of Population. We know that some of the residents who were forced to relocate have begun to return, but without a mid-decade census, those municipalities which were most severely damaged and experienced the sharpest population declines cannot receive equitable treatment on the basis of distorted 1970 Census of Population figures. Second among our unique concerns is the fact that a series of public improvements, assisted in large measure by Federal programs, are now beginning to produce visible results in employment, housing, and transportation improvements. It simply is not possible for this or any other local agency to adequately assess the rate of change, which will gain impetus for three to five years ahead, due to limited resources available and a demand for services which is growing at a rapid rate. We cite the Bureau of the Census projection, recently announced, indicating an increase of 18% during the decade 1970-1980 for the Gulfport-Biloxi Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area, which does not include two of the fastest-growing cities within the planning region. We also share in the national phenomenon of rates of growth in non-urban or unincorporated places exceeding that within the central cities. While we recognize that the cost of a mid-decade census will be considerable, we are convinced that there is no suitable alternative available to us to adequately fulfill our responsibilities to the jurisdictions to which we are responsible, and to respond properly to the guidelines and requirements of Federal programs. For these reasons, we join our counterparts across the nation in urging a reconsideration of the position stated by Director Brown. Respectfully, JACK DIFFERENT, C. Communications from County and City Governments PLANNING COMMISSION OF DELAWARE COUNTY, The PRESIDENT, The White House, Washington, D.C. MY DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: We are writing to express our disappointment at the recommendation of the administration not to have a mid-decade census. As users and distributors of data at the county, municipal and smaller area level we will be especially hurt by this decision. For planning purposes, we find it vital to have current, accurate data for small areas, often down to the block or block group. This is a need which cannot be filled by estimates between decennial censuses since estimates, even of the number of persons for such small areas are subject to high error, and estimates by age, race, or of social, or economic characteristics are virtually impossible to make with any accuracy. Areas within our County for which we most frequently have requests from other government agencies applying for federal funds are those areas whose characteristics appear to be changing most rapidly and thus are most in need of more frequent enumeration. In order to do an effective job, both in planning and in distributing data to other government agencies (and to students, industry, and others) we feel that it is a necessity to have a mid-decade census. We hope that you will reconsider your decision against a mid-decade census. Very truly yours, GEORGE VARVOUTIS, Executive Director. Hon. CHARLES H. WILSON, LOUDOUN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, Chairman, Subcommittee on Census and Statistics, Cannon House Office Building, Washington, D.C. DEAR CONGRESSMAN WILSON: Thank you very much for your letter of July 9 with regard to the mid-decade census. I have just now returned from the NACO annual conference where this subject was discussed, as well as Congressman Rousselot's concerns as expressed at the June 2 hearing, and a statement of our position will go out as soon as it can be put together. Sincerely yours, HUNTINGTON HARRIS, STANISLAUS COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION, Congressman CHARLES II. WILSON, DEAR CONGRESSMAN WILSON: As Director of Planning for Stanislaus County, I cannot stress too much the real importance of mid-decade census data. Because of the dynamic growth of California and other states, planning for both government and the private sector is hindered by existing data which becomes out-dated when over five years old. |