News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Clay County Commissioners are exploring the option of conducting a special census to ensure population data is accurate.
Clay County Mayor Dale Reagan said the census would be a joint effort with Celina Mayor Luke Collins. He said the process should get an exact count of the population in the city of Celina and Clay County to make sure taxes and funding reflect that data.
“Some of the other counties are looking at doing that, and not that I’m saying that the census that we do every 10 years is bad, I’m just saying I don’t know that I agree with the numbers that they come up with and everything,” Reagan said.
Clay County has been working with revenue consultants over the last year to find ways to bring more money to the county. Reagan said the consultants told him that a higher population count would likely lead to extra revenue flowing in.
“It’s got to come back to the county commission when we find out what the cost is going to be associated with it before anything can be done, but we’re starting the process of that,” Reagan said.
Reagan said he and Collins would have to send a letter of intent to the general assembly before they can move forward with the process. He said he will need to find out the specifics of what the special census will cost before the governments of Clay County and Celina can make a decision about whether to put the consultants’ advice into action.
“We live in a small little area, but we also have four, maybe five different zip codes,” Reagan said. “Sometimes, that gets confusing and sometimes some of the sales tax may be going to a different, maybe a different area, a different county, whatever that is bordering us.”
Overton County and Livingston have already begun the special census process with revenue increase as their primary motivator as well.
