By Shavonne Potts
spotts@salisburypost.com
CHINA GROVE — According to the 2010 census between 800 and 900 people left the town of China Grove. It’s a figure the town is working to disprove.
The difference, town officials believe, came about when census takers did not count a portion of residents who’d been annexed into town limits a number of years ago.
“The state has a number and the county has a number. The census came back with a different number,” said China Grove Interim Town Manager Ken Deal.
The town essentially has to prove they have more people than the census counted.
When town officials looked at the results from the census, they knew the numbers didn’t add up with numbers the town had used in previous counts.
“It’s quite common according to the folks I’ve spoken with. There are going to be some mistakes made,” Deal said.
The town could not file an appeal until July, he said.
No other surrounding municipalities are disputing their census population numbers, but Rowan County has its own concerns. (see related story.)
The county handles China Grove’s zoning and planning and are submitting the town’s dispute.
County Planning Director Ed Muire said there are several different challenges the town could’ve submitted, but in this case it’s a boundary dispute.
“It means the corporate limits at the time the census was taken were different than what the census assumed they were,” Muire said.
The town will verify its correct count using information it submitted to the N.C. Secretary of State and annexation done during the last decade.
In 2009 the population estimate was around 3,900 to 4,000 people and the 2010 census puts that count around 3,200, Muire said.
Prior to the census, each municipality had to submit a boundary/annexation survey, which was sent in April.
The survey is to show the census bureau the changes to the town’s city limits.
“For some reason it never happened,” said Adrian Rollans, the county’s GIS coordinator.
Rollans is actually submitting the dispute to the census bureau.
The town annexed numerous subdivisions along N.C. 152 and Patterson street. There were also residents who live off Bostian Road who were not attributed to the China Grove count, but were instead listed a Rowan County residents, Rollans explained.
The zoning department has to provide documents that will show the current residents in those uncounted areas.
“We have to count populations at homes and count each of those areas that we claim in order to show the residences were occupied at the time of the 2010 census,” Rollans said.
That process includes getting a letter from the mayor and looking at the 2000 census.
“If we do that and they agree to it — they will adjust those figures,” he said.
The process is expected to take a couple of months, but “we may not know for a year,” Rollans said.
Contact reporter Shavonne Potts at 704-797-4253.