Jun. 19—The Greater Nashville Regional Council is currently working to verify the data collected during Lebanon’s Special Census.

“We performed our census and had a lot of people work hard on it to get those numbers, and now it has to be verified,” Lebanon Mayor Rick Bell said.

The Greater Nashville Regional Council will be heading the verification process, going door-to-door to verify at least 10% of the residents listed in the special census count.

“It’s stated that we have to go door-to-door and it’s the point in the process we’re checking the data,” Greater Nashville Regional Council Senior Research Analyst Joanna McCall said. “You’re seeing the person at their home, so this requires us to knock on the doors of residents that participated in this count to confirm the information provided to the city.”

The field verification process is entering its second week and will take two-four weeks in total, McCall said.

“Then the state has its part and they will certify at the state level,” Greater Nashville Regional Council Deputy Director and Chief Communications Officer Michelle Lacewell said. “That’s done in a schedule related to the fiscal year.”

The information collected needs to show under a 5% error rate.

The timeline on the completion of the census verification process is dependent on factors like staffing and the willingness of residents to open their doors.

“We’re trying to be strategic and look for neighborhoods that might be a little more dense, but that said, we have to get an even sampling,” McCall said. “We also have to go to places where the houses are farther apart or places where you just may not expect as high of an answer rate.”

Bell said that this is the last step before the results from the special census are sent to the state.

“Once it’s verified, the state of Tennessee will take that verification,” Bell said. “The 2025-2026 fiscal year budget is when we’ll start getting revenue from these new census numbers.”

According to the United States Census Bureau, the 2020 census was undercounted in Tennessee by 4.78%.

The population of Lebanon in the 2020 census was recorded as 38,431. The city’s goal is recording 6,000 more residents, which would create around $1 million in additional annual funding. For every resident recorded over the 2020 census count, the city will receive $160 to $170 in additional state funding.

So far this year, the Greater Nashville Regional Council has participated in the verification processes of the Nolensville and Mt. Juliet Special Censuses.