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Aurora mayor says 17,000-person 2020 undercount is costing city about $4.3 million a year
Summary
Mayor John Lass told Chicago Live that Aurora fell roughly 17,000 people short in the 2020 census, costing the city an estimated $4,300,000 annually; he announced a targeted new-construction recount and a city-led door-to-door outreach campaign beginning after July 22.
Mayor John Lass said Aurora discovered an undercount of about 17,000 residents in the 2020 census that the city estimates is reducing its annual funding by roughly $4,300,000.
"The city of Aurora fell 17,000 people short, which is costing us $4,300,000 each and every year that we go without an accurate count," Lass said on Chicago Live. He said those figures affect how the city budgets for police, fire and public services and are used in long-term strategic planning.
Lass framed correcting the count as a budget priority and a step to avoid deep cuts: "When I took office a little bit over a year ago, one of my biggest challenges was our general fund was about $30,000,000 short," he said. The mayor described the current effort as a new-construction recount — not a full recount — focused on roughly 2,200 homes but noted contiguous boundaries mean some older residential areas will also be included.
City officials are staging targeted outreach to recover the missing population ahead of the next full cycle. Lass said the city will combine mailings, online self-response and door-to-door visits and called on residents to complete the form when they receive it. "For the next 5 to 6 months here in the city of Aurora, they're gonna be hearing the mayor say one thing, get counted, get counted, get counted," he said.
The mayor said correcting the count will help stabilize revenue and planning for the coming years; he also said city staff hope the effort will build experience ahead of the 2030 cycle.
