untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Flint's population losses might not have slowed last year
I agree that Flint's population loss is greater than the census estimated. The rate of housing abandonment grows each day.
Published: Tuesday, July 10, 2012, 4:08 PM Updated: Tuesday, July 10, 2012, 4:10 PM
By Ron Fonger | RFONGER1@mlive.com
FLINT, MI -- Turns out even a little bright spot wasn't what it first appeared for the city of Flint.
U.S. Census data released last month appeared to show the rate of population decline in the city was at least slowing, drawing even to other cities and townships within Genesee County.
But a top official with the county Planning Commission cautioned today that the estimated population loss of just 876 people in Flint from 2010 to 2011 is based on data from across the county rather than the city.
Census estimates were made on a countywide basis this year and assigned equally to all cities and townships in each county.
"Those numbers are not accurate," said Derek Bradshaw, assistant director of the county Planning Commission. "This is the first year the Census decided not to do population estimates (for each municipality. Instead, the agency) took countywide estimates and applied them to everyone."
A Census spokeswoman confirmed that the agency did change the way it made its estimated population gains and losses this year, and said data wasn't collected for each municipality.
Bradshaw said there's no way to tell from the the Census estimates what the true population change was in Flint or in other municipalities.
"It's unfortunate they did this for the whole U.S.," Bradshaw said.
Flint's population fell to an estimated 101,558 residents in 2011, according to the new June estimates, down from 102,434 people as of the official 2010 Census count.
The drop of 876 people for Flint was encouraging considering that since 2000, the city had been losing more than 1,000 residents annually. In 2008 and 2009, Flint's long-term population decline was on par with New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The lack of municipal data in the population estimates also means there isn't necessarily an end to decades of above average growth in the county's southern lakes communities.
Those areas appeared to be stuck in a no-growth mode when the new population estimates were released.
In all, Genesee County's population decreased by 3,710 people, or nearly 1 percent, between April 2010 and July 2011 -- the largest drop of any county in the state other than Wayne County.
bodrell
Flint lost me - a property owner, tax-payer and civic volunteer - in 2010.
Flint's management was clearly failing its consumer base, then and now. So I moved, along with about 4,000 other people in that year. I'm not sorry I did because I'm better off now, but I am sorry that Flint is failing with no resusitation in sight.
DrunkenWarrior
I am suprised to hear of growth, especially when they are all killing each other.
valtwin
Flint's population is simply changing from those who payed into the system to those who take. The taxpayers are moving or dying out while the takers are having as many free babies as they can. Walling must be biting his nails as the population draws closer to 100000. Thats the magic number for Flint to have the ability to suck the most money out of taxpayers in all 50 states through grants. That being Flints main economy, things could get really bad.
LesPaulCustom and DrunkenWarrior like this.
untanglingwebs
UNtil Flint gets the crime and violence under control, there can be no real growth. All I hear is people planning on how they can get out of Flint!
Ted Jankowski
You're right, All's we get is overpaid politicians and appointees that suck more money out of the city coffers and do nothing but complain about not having enough of this or that. All the while not using commonsense and the resources they already have at their disposal.
The city's dumbass ordinance to curb copper and aluminum thefts has been seen not to work. But they won't adopt a Pawn shop reporting ordinance that requires pawn shops to electronically file the stolen items they receive on a regular basis with the police department when our computer system (I'm Told0 has a module already designed to receive such information. We apply for and receive grants for crap that doesn't work and never apply for anything that will have a lasting affect on crime in Flint. Our City attorney has been pleading out cases that where slam dunks to begin with. none of elected officials seem to want to take crime seriously. Our appointed manager makes statements like (I'm paraphrasing here) 'tying tax incentives to job creation hasn't been proven..' Now there are statistics out there from all over the US that have proven that good electronic pawn shop reporting systems do work to lower crime but in Flint we only try things that are crack pot ideas. Nothing that has been proven to work do we ever seem to try. |
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