Although the populations of North Bergen and Guttenberg have increased according to the 2010 U.S. Census, mayors of both towns feel that their communities were undercounted.
“In urban areas, people don’t respond and as hard as we work to get them to respond, you just can’t locate everybody,” said North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco last week. “We do the best we can to eliminate illegal apartments, but it’s an impossible task, and some people will not come forward in urban areas. There is a great tendency to undercount.”
Guttenberg Mayor Gerald Drasheff agreed. Judging from new condo developments and the increase of students entering into the school district, he feels Guttenberg has grown larger than the Census tally reflects.
Census numbers affect how much federal aid a town receives. The federal count is done every 10 years.
“I believe that whatever district I get will be something that will be very manageable.” – Nicholas Sacco
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Guttenberg’s population increased 3.4 percent from the 2000 count of 10,807 to a current population estimate of 11,176.
Federal aid
North Bergen, because its population is more than 50,000, could receive more funds through the federal Community Development Block Grants, among other programs.
However, this week President Barack Obama said the CDBG program would be cut by $300 million, according to published reports.
“It can only be positive in that a lot of the grant and aid programs that we apply for are contingent upon total population and, nine out of 10, the more population, the more you qualify for,” said North Bergen Township Administrator Christopher Pianese.
Drasheff also hopes for an increase in aid for Guttenberg.
Affects politics, too
Redistricting is a once-every-decade process in which the state legislature determines, based on Census figures, districts for electoral offices, including the U.S. Congress, state Assembly, and state Senate.
Drasheff said that he hopes Guttenberg, which is currently represented by 33rd District State Sen. and Union City Mayor Brian Stack, will remain under Stack’s leadership, because he is happy as things are. But if his town is assigned to another Hudson County district, he feels that the town will continue to be represented fairly. His only concern is that Guttenberg not be split between two different legislative districts, which he does not believe would happen.
Sacco said the largest redistricting issue this year will probably be how many senators will represent Jersey City, which is now split among three state Senate districts, represented by Sacco in the 32nd District, Sen. Sandra Cunningham in the 31st District, and Sen. Brian Stack in the 33rd District.
Sacco hopes to continue to represent the 32nd District, but feels he would be able to do a good job with new towns, too. He said that out of all the representatives in Hudson County, he would be most likely to be reassigned, since North Bergen touches Bergen County, an area also included in his district.
“I believe that whatever district I get will be something that will be very manageable,” said Sacco.
Increase in Hispanic residents
North Bergen, according to these new numbers, now has the fourth largest population of residents among Hudson County municipalities.
Residents who counted themselves as Hispanic or Latino rose from 33,260 in the 2000 census to 41,569, an increase of 8,309. Those classified as other, which largely includes the Middle Eastern-Indian population, grew by a little more than 1,000 to 10,107.
Guttenberg’s Hispanic population also grew from 5,871 to 7,245, meaning more than half of the town is now Hispanic.
Tricia Tirella may be reached at TriciaT@hudsonreporter.com.