The City Council has taken the first step toward getting the latest count of its residents by agreeing to pay $125 to the U.S. Census Bureau for a cost estimate on an updated census.
The last special census was conducted in McHenry as recently as 1993, but the population has grown by an estimated 1,025 since then, according to City Clerk Pam Althoff.
Althoff said the 1993 census showed a population of 18,180. If the increase of 1,025 is verified this summer by the Census Bureau, this population growth will increase the annual return of state tax revenue to the city to $79,950 per year.
The cost of the census is estimated at around $50,000, Althoff said.
Before voting to spend the $125 fee for an official estimate from the Census Bureau, Ald. Greg Bates questioned whether it was worth spending $50,000 to net only about $30,000.
However, Bates changed his mind after Ald. Bill Bolger noted that the city would receive another $79,950 each year thereafter.
