Phil Beckman
Daily Egyptian
Carbondale will receive over $420,000 in state funds lost because of a census mishap if a proposal approved Friday by the City Council is approved by Murphysboro and the state of Illinois.
Carbondale has been trying to recover the funds since it initiated an appeal of the Census Bureau's count of the city's population on July 18, 2001. The state of Illinois owes Carbondale $420,198.74 in its share of state revenue and the motor fuel tax distributed by population.
Carbondale Mayor Neil Dillard said this is a positive step forward in properly resolving this issue.
"The agreement, as presently pursued, seems to be the best way to bring closure to the census problem," Dillard said.
Because of the census miscount, Murphysboro received the $416,652.50 in state funds. If the agreement is approved, Murphysboro would transfer the extra money it received to Carbondale while the Illinois Department of Revenue would pay $2,691.75, and the Illinois Department of Transportation would pay $854.49.
"[The agreement] addresses, for the most part, the money the city has not received," City Manager Jeff Doherty said. "If we had ultimately won in court, we would receive at least as much."
The agreement requires that Carbondale not appeal the recent appellate court decision that reversed a Jackson County Circuit Court injunction ordering the state to keep money that Carbondale would have received in an escrow account.
The city also agrees that it will not make further claims against the state or Murphysboro if in the future the Census Bureau corrects other errors in the 2000 Census.
Carbondale is still pursuing two appeals with the Census Bureau.
Mistakes made during the 2000 Census placed 4,382 SIUC students in Murphysboro. Carbondale appealed the count through the Census Bureau's Count Question Resolution Plan. The city also sued the state in the Jackson County Circuit Court to prevent the state from distributing Carbondale's share of state tax revenue until the population count could be corrected.
The circuit court issued an injunction on July 18, 2001, ordering the state to place the funds in an escrow account. The state appealed the injunction with the Illinois Appellate Court for the 5th District. The appellate court ruled July 10 in the state's favor and reversed the lower court's ruling.
Also on July 10, the state proposed the current agreement as a way to resolve the issue.
Councilman Brad Cole said the timing of the appellate court's ruling and the state's proposal were not related.
Dillard said that in 1980 and 1990, the Census Bureau allowed the city to review the population figures before they were made official, which allowed for errors to be corrected at an earlier stage. In 2000, the Census Bureau did not allow the city to review the figures because of a change in census policy.
Reporter Phil Beckman can be reached at
pbeckman@dailyegyptian.com
Published on 11/17/05; 12:24:44 PM
