Town pursues review of census and American Community Survey data after identifying apparent errors

Town staff described ongoing work to document apparent errors in the town's Census and American Community Survey (ACS) data and to request corrections from state and federal agencies.
Staff said Molly Jenkins submitted two separate packages highlighting errors in occupational, population and income fields and that the town planned a targeted survey to validate local counts. The board discussed coordinating with the Oklahoma Municipal League (OML), the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB), and an outside analyst to design a follow-up survey; staff said an OSU-affiliated group may assist in digesting results once collected.
Trustees said incorrect ACS estimates have affected the town's eligibility and competitiveness for certain grants, and staff gave examples the board found implausible — including population counts and income distributions that do not match local knowledge. Staff explained that recent ACS sampling rates in Oklahoma were small (a meeting speaker cited 2.29% in 2023) and said that sampling and weighting across large urban centers can skew results for very small jurisdictions.
Trustees authorized staff to continue pursuing documentation and outreach to state and federal partners, to circulate a short survey to residents based on guidance from municipal partners, and to report back to the board with findings and any corrected data supplied by the Census Bureau or other agencies. No vote to adopt a formal legal challenge was taken at the meeting; trustees described the work as fact-finding to support grant eligibility and accurate planning data.