Waltham is one of 16 cities and towns that could be in line to gain some cash from the state after a successful challenge to U.S. Census population estimates.
Secretary of State William Galvin, in conjunction with the Donahue Institute at the University of Massachusetts, announced in December that Waltham, Boston, Worcester, Springfield and other communities had successfully challenged U.S. Census population estimates from 2007.
Mayor Jeannette McCarthy said yesterday the city's Planning Department had done the work to win the challenge, in collaboration with the Donahue Institute and the Secretary of State's population estimates program.
Galvin has said the state could stand to gain anywhere between $2.5 million and $5 million in federal funding as a result of the program's work.
State Rep. Thomas Stanley, D-Waltham, who is also a city councilor, told the council Monday that Waltham, along with the other communities who successfully challenged the figures, have received less in lottery aid than they were entitled to over the last several years.
Stanley said a group of legislators consulted with the Division of Local Services at the Department of Revenue and calculated that Waltham had lost $182,434 in funding.
"It's money that Waltham ought to receive," Stanley said yesterday. "It's important to find any small source of revenue or savings wherever we can. It all adds up."
Stanley submitted a resolution Monday asking the City Council to request that either the planned reduction in local aid in the fiscal 2010 budget be based on the recalculated population estimates or that a direct sum be paid to those cities and towns.
As a result of the challenge to the U.S. Census population estimate, Waltham picked up 567 residents from the challenge process, up from from a 2007 estimate of 59,768 residents to 60,325.
The challenges of the 16 cities and towns increased the state's total population estimate by 21,295 residents.
Stanley said getting the extra money is especially important for Waltham because it could help the city avoid possible job cuts.
"Certainly, the extra funding would go a long way toward preventing that," Stanley told the council on Monday.
Richard Conn can be reached at 781-398-8004 or rconn@cnc.com.
