AREA POPULATION UP 1.4 PERCENT GROWTH RATE SLIGHTLY BELOW THAT OF L.A. COUNTY.

Byline: Helen Gao Staff Writer

The populations of Glendale and Burbank grew by about 1.4 percent over the last year - to reach 200,157 and 102,835 respectively in 2002 - according to newly released statistics from the state Department of Finance.

The two cities' population growth is slightly below Los Angeles County's overall increase of 1.7 percent, with Burbank gaining 1,423 residents in 2001 and Glendale adding 2,897 people.

Glendale's director of finance, Bob Franz, said with the city fully developed, the modest growth is in line with what he has seen in the last few years.

``You can grow only by increased usage of existing housing,'' he said. ``There is some growth going on with multi-family housing.''

However, Burbank's budget manager, Joan Michaels, questions the accuracy of the state's numbers.

Previously the Department of Finance had estimated Burbank's 2001 population as 102,400, but it revised the number down to 101,412 for that year in a recent letter to the city, Michaels said.

Without that revision, Burbank's growth would only have amounted to 435 residents, based on the difference between the initial 2001 estimate of 102,400 and the 102,835 residents the city reached by 2002.

``That does seem a little low,'' said Michaels. ``We will be calling to check with the state.''

Cities have big stakes in the accuracy of their population figures because the state distributes many sources of funding, including park bond funds and vehicle license fees, on a per-capita basis.

``If something is misreported, it could impact the dollars that could be received,'' said Michaels.

Glendale's Franz, however, doesn't expect any windfall from the state as a result of the city's population growth, because it is so small.

``When it's 1.47 percent, we basically don't pay much attention to it for budgeting purposes,'' he said. ``If it's a big change, five or six percent, we pay more attention.''

The state releases city and county population estimates each year around budget time to help local governments figure out how much money they will receive from the state.

To come up with the estimates, demographers start with the previous year's figures and then check birth, death and relocation records and any other documents that may indicate population change.

Historically, the state has tended to overestimate the two local cities' populations.

In 2000, the state projected Burbank's population as 106,480, while the federal census counted only 100,316. In the same year, the state pegged Glendale's population at 203,700, 4.4 percent or 8,727 more residents than the census estimate of 194,973.

Subsequently, the state revised its figures to reconcile with the census data.

``Typically, the Department of Finance numbers are a little higher than the reality of the situation because they are giving everybody a share of the (state) population growth,'' said Burbank City Manager Robert ``Bud'' Ovrom.

``Burbank is a fully-developed city. It doesn't have as much growth.''