Pew Report: Philadelphia's not prepared for '10 census

When it comes time to stand up and be counted, Philadelphia may not be ready.

That's the evaluation of a new report released yesterday by the Pew Charitable Trusts on the city's preparedness for the 2010 Census.

"Philadelphia is lagging behind other major cities in mounting the kind of local outreach and awareness campaign for the 2010 Census that many experts consider important for achieving a full count," the report said.

According to the report, seven of the other 10 cities surveyed had launched citywide coordinating committees by early October. The other three cities had secured more funding for the census than Philadelphia, which has not launched a coordinating committee.

The census has broad ramifications for the city and state - helping determine how federal funding is allocated, as well as helping determine how many members of Congress will represent the state.

Los Angeles has allocated $770,000 and Chicago has raised $900,000 but Philadelphia has secured only $12,000, the report said. Philly spent $360,000 in public and grant dollars on the 2000 census.

City officials said that they believe the deficit is not an immediate problem and that the city will be able to find other ways to finance the census.

"Everyone has tightened their belts in this time. . . . I think we will be able to raise some number of funds to help this effort," said Tricia Enright, Mayor Nutter's deputy chief of staff, adding that she thought that the city would probably raise $200,000 to $300,000 from nonprofit organizations.

"I'm confident that we're going to have a robust and energized census outreach effort across the city and particularly in those hard-to-count neighborhoods and populations - and that's really going to be our goal," Enright said.

The 2000 census probably undercounted Philadelphia's population by about 8,000 people, according to the report. An accurate count is especially important for the city this time around because officials believe that the city's population has stopped shrinking, and is in fact growing.

"A number is more than just a number when the number is shrinking," said Tom Ginsberg, author of the report. "It takes on a bigger importance . . . if you can show that the population is not shrinking. There is a benefit in marketability and self image, attitude, and prestige beyond the legislative and financial benefits."