Yorkville officials eye special population count to boost revenue

With state and federal monies being distributed to municipalities on the basis of their populations, it often makes financial sense for a local government to invest in the cost of a population count of its own, rather than wait for the decennial Census.

It hasn’t been long since the 2020 Census counted 21,533 people living in Yorkville, but the city’s continued dramatic growth could soon make it worthwhile for the city to conduct a special census sooner rather than later.

“For every new resident counted as part of a special census, the city stands to receive more than $210 per year,” City Administrator Bart Olson wrote in a memo to the Yorkville City Council.

Olson said income taxes, use taxes, motor fuel taxes, cannabis taxes and others are state-shared revenues that are distributed to municipalities on a per capita basis.

“It may be worth it for the city to conduct a special census in the immediate future,” Olson said, explaining that plenty of residential development was taking place even as Census enumerators were taking their counts between April and October of 2020.

“It is possible that as many as 700 new housing starts were in various stages of construction and not included in that population count,” Olson said. “Additionally, the city has built more than 500 new homes since October 2020 and is on pace for another strong year in 2022,” he said.

The increase in population is leading Yorkville to the municipal Holy Grail of home-rule status. Municipalities with 25,000 or more residents gain additional powers and flexibility when they receive the home-rule designation. Currently, the village of Oswego, with a population of 34,585, is the only municipality in Kendall County to have gained home rule status.

Olson is suggesting the city plan for two special counts. He noted that it takes about a year before a special census is initiated to the time the city starts receiving the additional revenues.

The first count should get underway soon, Olson said, in order to tally the residents resulting from the new homes being constructed during and after the 2020 count and to capture the incremental revenue.

The city could then conduct another special census when it is sure that the population has passed the 25,000 home-rule threshold, Olson said, which is expected to occur sometime between later this year and the end of 2024.

Yorkville’s growth has been concentrated in new developments such as the Grande Reserve subdivision.

“Fortunately, all the city’s growth is contained within newer subdivisions, which allows us to conduct partial special censuses at minimal cost and maximum benefit,” Olson said, adding that the city’s last partial special census cost $135,000.

“Theoretically, with an average population per household at 2.6 to 2.8, the city has a one-year return on its investment at just 350 to 400 new houses,” Olson said.