A field hearing held on Monday at Wayne County Community College showcased some of the evidence that the 2020 census in Detroit was undercounted.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan expressed that an undercount within the census leaving a hole of millions of dollars for police, fire departments, parks, healthcare, school programs and grants.
“There is no appeal process for whether a house is occupied,” said Duggan. “The only thing you can appeal is whether a building was there. We filed that. But the problem was the census 2020 was so short-staffed, many times they only went to a house once to see if anybody was there, even if their own rules say they had to go six times.”
Read more: Research shows Detroit was undercounted in 2020 Census
The mayor said that the government has admitted there’s a racial undercount. The city is hoping to speed up the appeal process so the census can be fixed. Detroit has had census challenges before. Former Mayor Coleman Young sued after the 1990 census was inaccurate.
Watch the story in the video player above to learn more about the evidence discussed at the hearing.