(Photo by Christina Estes - KJZZ)

Phoenix is working to make sure the Census Bureau's database includes updated addresses.

The country is two years away from the official start of the 2020 Census, but some cities, like Phoenix, are concerned about changes that could potentially impact the count and how much federal funding it gets.

In the past, the Census Bureau mailed questionnaires to households to answer. In 2020, the plan calls for mailing instructions on how to respond electronically. A census test of electronic submissions in 2015 revealed an 80 percent response rate for Chandler, 72 percent for Mesa and just 50 percent for Phoenix.

“Particularly in a central city like Phoenix, making sure that everyone responds, has a chance to respond, understands how to respond is really critical to our financial wellbeing,” Ed Manger, city manager, recently told the City Council.

Phoenix estimates it could lose up to $23,000 in federal funding over the next 10 years for each resident not counted. Mayor Greg Stanton said the business community needs to understand how the count can impact them.

“Obviously our health care institutions, particularly those that serve a high Medicaid eligible population will be impacted,” he said. “Transportation dollars; some of our major transportation projects, our ability to get federal grants will be directly impacted by the success of our census efforts.”

City staff is working to make sure the Census Bureau’s database contains the most updated addresses and the city will form a committee to help raise awareness and boost participation.

A Jan. 30 budget update to the council included a reference to “allocate additional resources for marketing materials, advertisements and staff as soon as possible to ensure that Phoenix residents are accurately reported.”