Apex could miss out on millions in federal funding annually if Census count isn't changed

Apex is one of the fastest growing towns in the state according to the most recent census. Town officials believe it is actually larger than the official count, and they're now challenging their 2020 census results.

"It goes back to making sure we can maintain this quality of life in our town," said Jacques Gilbert, Apex's mayor.

Gilbert was born and raised in the town.

"We see a lot of people who want to come here and raise a family," he said. "It's a great thing to see, but there are challenges that come with it."

Challenges like maintaining infrastructure. He remembers when the stoplight at N.C. Highway 55 and Salem Street would change to a blinking stop sign at 7 p.m. every day. Now, the roadway sees thousands of commuters daily.

Gilbert would like to use federal funding to enhance and expand roadways to handle the influx of residents. That funding is appropriated by how many people live in a town. And that information that comes from the census. 

"This is the most complete picture we get of what our communities look like," said Bob Coates, the North Carolina Census Liasion. "We don’t want to be funding and administering programs based on guesswork."

Apex officials feel they don't have a complete picture. After reviewing information, they believe more than 1,600 houses in new developments west of downtown Apex were counted for Wake County unincorporated. Because of that, the town decided to file count question resolution with the Census Bureau, which, essentially, challenges the results.

If the people in those neighborhoods aren't counted toward the town, Apex could be missing out on more than $9.4 million every year.

The mayor says these are annexed communities, something they're seeing happen more often as the region grows. Some of the places not being counted toward the Apex population include Crestmont, Greenmoor and The Preserve at White Oak Creek, as well as Sweetwater, Saddlebrook and Jordan Manors. Town officials counted portions of eight other neighborhoods also counted toward the county, not the town.

The review won't cost taxpayers anything. The census accepts challenges if there was an issue related to three fields: there were incorrect boundaries, the bureau missed addresses within the boundary or there are housing units outside of boundaries that should been in an area. The latter is what the Apex officials believe happened.

Thus far, Apex is the only town in the state looking to change its count.

The mayor hopes to learn the outcome of their challenge the next few weeks.

"We gotta get this right now because we can’t wait another 10 years and lose out on millions of dollars," he said.