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1 <br /> INFORMATION ITEM <br /> MEMORANDUM <br /> To: Orange County Board of Commissioners <br /> From: Todd McGee, Community Relations Director, and Tom Altieri, <br /> Comprehensive Planning Supervisor <br /> Date: Oct. 12, 2021 <br /> Re: Report on 2020 Census results in Orange County <br /> Last year marked the undertaking of the 2020 decennial Census by the United <br /> States Census Bureau; the first census conducted during a deadly global <br /> pandemic presented challenges at the federal and local levels. Deadlines and <br /> processes were continually changed. Despite the difficulties, the Census was <br /> completed in the fall, and apportionment data was delivered to the President on <br /> April 26, 2021. <br /> Orange County appointed a Census Complete Count Committee, led by then <br /> Vice-Chair Renee Price. The committee (roster attached) included <br /> representatives from all municipalities, schools, Durham Tech, the University of <br /> North Carolina and many civic groups. The committee met several times <br /> throughout 2019, creating marketing materials in many languages to spread the <br /> word about the importance of completing the Census survey. Unfortunately, most <br /> of the committee's plans, including a series of 13 Be Counted Sites, were <br /> thwarted by the COVID-19 pandemic. These sites were located throughout the <br /> County and made available public computers for residents to use in order to <br /> complete the online Census survey. <br /> When the pandemic shut everything down in mid-March, one of the biggest <br /> problems identified with the census was the off-campus student population at the <br /> University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The committee worked very closely <br /> with the University to educate students living off-campus on the importance of <br /> completing the survey. <br /> The efforts of the committee, both as a group and individual members, helped <br /> Orange County experience one of the highest self-reporting rates in North <br /> Carolina. Thanks are extended to committee members for dedicating their time <br /> and efforts into ensuring all Orange County residents were counted in the 2020 <br /> Census. <br /> Comprehensive Planning <br /> In 2002, the release of the 2000 Census prompted the first major update to the <br /> County's original 1981 Land Use Plan, which had guided the County's planning <br /> for over 25-years. The Census data was compiled into a 100-page document <br /> (aka County Profile Element) that guided completion of the 2030 Comprehensive <br /> Plan, which was adopted by the BOCC in November 2008. <br /> As the 2010 Census concluded, the County Planning Department developed a <br /> webpage as a central source for County population and demographic data. In <br />