Experts say report lacks substance

Complete Count Commission plan criticized for ambiguity in how $20M will be allocated

Months of hearings by a panel tasked with shaping the state’s Census preparations produced a 126-page report that is light on specific recommendations and defers much of its authority to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, according to some activists and experts.

The “blueprint” — due nearly nine months ago — was approved Tuesday without objection in a meeting of the Complete Count Commission, which was formed to craft a comprehensive action plan and identify the funding needed to lay the ground work for a complete count of New Yorkers next year.

“It’s a road map, but unfortunately it doesn’t get us to our destination,” Commissioner Esmeralda Simmons said during Tuesday’s meeting.

Hanging in the balance is billions of dollars in federal aid and the state’s representation in Congress, which will be determined by New York’s recorded population in the 2020 Census.

The report broadly identifies strategies for promoting participation in the Census process, such as utilizing community organizations for local outreach, but stops short of specific plans and doesn’t calculate how much it will all cost. The few detailed proposals primarily involve marshaling existing state resources.

Commission members appointed by the governor and his political allies enthusiastically embraced the final product, describing it as an exhaustive plan for Cuomo and the state Legislature. In advance of the report’s release, commission co-chair Jim Malatras stressed that it was “not high-level f luff.”

Jeff Wice, who is involved in Census preparation efforts in New York and around the country, said the report offers an excellent overview of facts and offers information that local activists can utilize, such as regional data that will be useful for planning operations.

But others say much of the report, which is filled with large photos and a one-page tribute to a deceased commissioner, is a regurgitation of known challenges and issues facing next year’s count.

“There is nothing wrong or new,” said Patricia Swann, of the New York Community Trust, which oversees the New York State Census Equity Fund.

“I was hoping for a little more substance,” Swann said. “I’m looking for a plan and I’m not quite seeing it there.”

The ambiguity includes how the $20 million already allocated for Census preparation will be spent, with the report only saying it should fund outreach for hardto-count areas and be deployed in areas that lack their own resources for preparations.

It’s not clear who will receive the money or how and when it will be distributed — questions Malatras said were beyond the scope of the commission’s authority and expertise.

Shamier Settle, a policy analyst with the liberal Fiscal Policy Institute, said the priorities should have included funding levels.

“We need to know how much and when the ball will get rolling,” Settle said.

The commission did agree to a last-second addendum from Simmons that urges the Cuomo administration to expeditiously spread state funding around, as many in the field believe that time is running out to invest in meaningful preparation efforts.

“It has punted the next steps over to Gov. Cuomo,” said Meeta Anand, a Census expert with the New York Immigration Coalition.

“I don’t want to focus on the commission at this point,” Anand said. “They’ve made it very clear they are passing the buck to Cuomo.”

Another report is due from the commission in January 2020 that analyzes the implementation of Census preparations in New York.