CUMBERLAND — Officials from the city of Cumberland believe there are policies in place that could prevent an accurate population count in the 2010 census.

David Umling, city planner, said Tuesday during a public meeting of the Allegany County Local Complete Count Committee that the number of addresses on the U.S. Census Bureau’s master address list could be off by as many as 584 units.

Umling emphasized he is not alleging an undercount is inevitable, but the chances for that to occur increase if the city and Census Bureau have different information. Under Census Bureau policy, “the city was told it could not challenge” the figures, Umling said.

The city participated in a Local Update of Census Addresses in March 2008 and submitted an additional 445 addresses, based largely on new development and building permits issued. The update had three programs in which the city could participate, two of which ensured access to the bureau’s master address list for Cumberland. The city, however, could not meet the Title 13 privacy requirements and chose instead a third option that allowed workers to send updated information to the bureau or its file.

The bureau reduced the number of addresses for Cumberland proper to 11,248 units from 11,615.

Cumberland Mayor Lee Fiedler, in a Dec. 21 letter to congressional representatives, said city staff counted the number of occupancy permits issued between April 1, 2000, and Dec. 31, 2008.

“From that total, they subtracted the number of dwelling units that were moved due to demolitions and for dwelling unit consolidations and conversion,” Fiedler said. “Our figures from that analysis show that the city gained a total of 217 net new dwelling units since the date of the last census count. We cannot understand how the Census Bureau can produce an accurate count of our population if it reduced our master address list by a total of 367 units while our own permit records show that our housing stock grew by 217 units ... a discrepancy of nearly 600 dwelling units!”

An accurate count is important, Fiedler said. In 2007, Allegany County and its municipalities received more than $93 million for a variety of programs, including Medical Assistance, Head Start, Title I grants for education, and highway planning and construction, among other items.

“If an accurate count is ensured, our permit records suggest that we could show a population gain for the first time since 1940,” Fiedler said. “We believe that every local government should have an equal right to receive an accurate count in the 2010 census, regardless of how it participates in the census’s LUCA program. If we cannot challenge the census count, how can we ensure that our population will be fully represented in our state and federal governments?

“Furthermore, how could we ensure our taxpayers that the city will receive its full and fair share of their tax dollars? It is our understanding that the primary purpose of the census is to address those critical equity concerns.”

Umling brought the concern to the attention of committee members Tuesday. A suggestion by Elizabeth Stahlman, chairwoman, to draft a letter of support failed to gain support when multiple committee members, who represent various public and private institutions, said they couldn’t sign anything without direct approval from those agencies’ boards.

Representatives of both Sen. Ben Cardin and Rep. Roscoe Bartlett said the two officials were working to ensure an account count.

“I’ve already let Mayor Fiedler’s office know that I’ve contacted the Census Bureau on behalf of the city to ensure that everyone in Cumberland is counted in the 2010 Census,” Bartlett said in an e-mailed statement to the Times-News.

Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.