The U.S. Census Bureau is conducting the Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) to update their records regarding changes to legal boundaries, names, and governmental status of all governmental units effective on or before January 1, 2010. This voluntary survey is an important opportunity for local governments to ensure that the Census Bureau has the correct boundary and legal name for your county, as well as for the governments within your jurisdiction.
The Census Bureau will use the boundary information collected to report data from the 2010 Census and estimates from other programs and surveys, such as the Population Estimates Program (PEP) and the American Community Survey (ACS). The 2010 BAS is especially important as it is the last opportunity for participants to update their legal boundaries prior to the completion of the 2010 Census. Accurate legal boundaries will result in more accurate data tabulation for all of the census programs and surveys.
In preparation for the upcoming 2010 BAS, the U.S. Census Bureau is conducting BAS workshops in select cities across the country. (Editors note: the workshop in Jeffersonville, Indiana on January 8th is the nearest option for Wisconsinites.) The BAS workshops will be open to interested participants and will include both digital and paper BAS training. The training will have separate sessions for digital and paper participation procedures. Digital BAS training will include demonstrations on how to complete the BAS using ArcGIS or the MAF/TIGER Partnership Software (MTPS). MTPS is a PC-based software application provided by the Census Bureau for participants to digitally update the Census Bureau maps and forms.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau