The Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS)

The 2012 Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) State Certification program invites the governor-appointed State Certifying Official (SCO) to review the information that the local governments reported to the U.S. Census Bureau during the 2012 BAS. The BAS is an annual survey of local and county governments conducted by the Census Bureau to collect legal boundary updates, names of legally defined geographic areas, and functional statuses of governmental units.

The purpose of the State Certification program is to verify the accuracy, validity, and completeness of the BAS information with the state governments. Every year, the Census Bureau will mail compact discs (CDs) containing the listings of the information collected from the previous BAS year to the SCO. These listings include the attribute information for disincorporations and legal boundary changes as well as the names and functional statuses of incorporated places and minor civil divisions (MCDs). In addition, the CDs will contain maps depicting the boundary changes that local governments in your state reported to the 2012 BAS.

The SCO should certify any records that were legally implemented in accordance with their state laws. Depending on the state laws, the SCO may request the Census Bureau to edit the attribute information or remove invalid records from the listings. The SCO may also notify the Census Bureau of records that are missing from the listings. If a state does not have a law in effect mandating local governments to report status or boundary changes a state level agency, the Census Bureau will provide the listings to the SCO for informational purposes only.

The letter in the State Certification package lists the types of changes that are required by state law to be reported to a state level agency. If there is an error in the information, please provide an explanation of the state laws in question to Monica Smith or Laura Waggoner of the Legal Areas Team at [email protected].

1.2 State Certification Listings

This section discusses the 2013 BAS State Certification listings, which are provided as Microsoft Excel (xls) files. The information in each listing provides the following data:

List 1 – Entities reported to the Census Bureau that have disincorporated, become inactive, or otherwise ceased to exist. This listing is only available if a deleted entity was reported to the Census Bureau during the 2012 BAS.
List 2 – Reported legal boundary changes (annexations, deannexations/detachments, etc.) to active incorporated places within the state as of January 1, 2012.
List 3 – All governmentally active and inactive incorporated places in the state, according to the Census Bureau’s records as of January 1, 2012.
List 4 – All governmentally active and inactive minor civil divisions (MCDs) in the state, according to Census Bureau’s records as of January 1, 2012. Appendix B provides a list of states that have MCDs.

If you have any questions regarding the instructions provided in this guide, please contact Monica Smith or Laura Waggoner of the Legal Areas Team by phone 301-763-1099 or by e-mail at [email protected].

1.3 Preview of Certification Procedures

Please review each record for each listing. As the SCO, you have the authority to submit any changes to the Census Bureau. You will be reporting your determinations for each record by entering one of the following action codes in the listing file Cert. column, which are defined in the table below:

Action Code	Description
C		Certify. The SCO certifies that the information for the record is: complete, accurate, and conforms to applicable state laws.
A		Add. The SCO adds a record from the state’s file that is missing from the listing.
R		Reverse. The SCO requests to remove an invalid record from the listing.
E		Edit. The SCO edits the attribute information in for an existing record in the listing.
X		Duplicate Entry. The SCO indicates that the record is a duplicate of another record in the listing.
<blank>		Leaving a blank field means there are no actions for the record. The Census Bureau will continue to maintain the record and its current attribute information.

Table 1: Action Codes and Descriptions

1.4 State Laws

The SCO is responsible for understanding the laws in their state that pertain to legal boundary changes, new incorporations, and disincorporations/dissolutions since this will determine the extent to which the Census Bureau will accept changes to the State Certification listings. Strong law states require local governments to report any legal actions causing changes to their legal boundaries to the state government. If such laws are in effect, the SCO should have access to a complete boundary change file through the state government, which they shall use to compare with the Census Bureau listings. In strong law states, the SCO may pursue any of the actions described in Table 1.

In states that do not have such laws, the SCO does not need to submit the edited listings to the Census Bureau. However, if the SCO does have access to a state-level boundary change file, they may use it to certify or add missing records to the State Certification listings. In most cases, the Census Bureau will accept these actions. Reversals and Edits will not be accepted unless these changes are confirmed by the local governmental entity affected by the change.

2. List 1 (Entities That Disincorporated, Became Inactive, or Ceased to Exist)

2.1 Data File Description

List 1 contains the names of all geographic entities in your state that have: disincorporated, became inactive (no longer have officers, collect revenue, or conduct governmental activities), or otherwise ceased to exist as of January 1, 2012. Table 2 provides an explanation of the fields in the data file.

Column	Field Name	Description
A	Entity Name and LSAD	Entity’s Name and Expanded legal/statistical area description.
B	County	County/counties in which the entity is located
C	Death Date	The date on file for when the entity disincorporated, became inactive, or otherwise ceased to exist.
D	Death Date Update	Will be initially blank so that you may provide edits to the data in the Death Date field without overriding original data.
E	Cert.	Will also be initially blank so that you may indicate the records that you certify as correct and complete.
F	Memo	Will also be initially blank so that you may include any notes you have regarding a certain record.

Table 2: List 1 Data File Field Descriptions

Example 2.1.1: List 1

2.2 Instructions

Please review the data file to ensure that it provides a complete and correct inventory of all entities that have disincorporated, become inactive, or otherwise ceased to exist as of January 1, 2012.

For all records that are deemed to be correct and complete:

In the Cert. field, enter a “C” if you certify the record to be complete, accurate, and conforming to applicable laws in your state.

If there is an entity that disincorporated, became inactive, or otherwise ceased to exist by January 1, 2012 and is missing from the data file:

In a new row at the bottom of the data file, enter the missing entity’s name and the entity type (such as town, township, city, etc.) in the Entity name and LSAD field, the date the entity disincorporated, became inactive, or otherwise ceased to exist into the Death Date Update field, and provide an explanation in the Memo field.
In the Cert. field, enter an “A”. This will inform the Census Bureau that an additional entity should be added to the database of deleted entities.

If any entity is listed in error:

In the Cert. field, enter an “R” to notify the Census Bureau that this entity should be removed from the database of deleted entities.
In the Memo field, provide an explanation why the entity should be removed.

If there is an error with the Death Date of an entity:

In the Death Date Update field, enter the correct date the entity ceased to exist.
In the Cert. field, type an “E” to notify the Census Bureau that the Death Date must be edited in the database of deleted entities.

If any entity is duplicated:

In the Cert. field, enter an “X” to inform the Census Bureau that this entity is a duplicate of another entity.
In the Memo field, indicate the duplicate ID.

Upon completion of your review of the List 1 data file, please certify the statement at the bottom of the file by typing your full name, title, and the date of your concurrence below the provided statement.

3. List 2 (Boundary Changes)

3.1 Data File Description

The List 2 data file provides an inventory of legal boundary changes to active incorporated places within your state that were reported to the 2012 BAS. If an entity is not listed in a file, it means that the entity did not report boundary changes effective as of January 1, 2012 to the 2012 BAS. Table 3 provides an explanation of the fields in the data file.

Column	Field Name	Description
A	Place Name and LSAD	Entity’s name and expanded legal/statistical area description.
B	FIPS Place Code	Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) code for the place.
C	Action	Shows whether the boundary change is an annexation, detachment, or other type of action.
D	Action Update	Will be blank so that you may provide edits to the data in the Action field without overwriting original data.
E	Type	Shows the type of legal authorization that effected the change.
F	Type Update	Will be blank so that you may provide edits to the data in the Type field without overwriting original data.
G	Number	The identification number of the legal document that recorded the authorization effecting the change to the boundary.
H	Number Update	Will be blank so that you may provide edits to the data in the Number field without overwriting original data.
I	Effective Date	Lists the effective date of each action. (Please note that there may be a difference between the effective date of actions on this list and the effective date in your files because the Census Bureau’s records contain a locally reported date.)
J	Effective Date Update	Will be blank so that you may provide edits to the data in the Effective Date Update field without overwriting original data.
K	Acreage	Lists the reported acreage of the affected territory.
L	Acreage Update	Will be blank so that you may provide edits to the data in the Acreage field without overwriting original data.
M	Keying Date	Lists the date that the record was entered into the Census Bureau’s database. The keying date may be used to research boundary changes on the Census Bureau’s maps.
N	Cert.	Will be blank so that you may indicate the records that you certify as correct and complete. (See Table 1.)
O	<Blank>	Will be blank so that you may provide additional information about the record if necessary.

Table 3: List 2 Field Descriptions

Example 3.1.1: List 2

3.2 Instructions

Please review this data file to verify that:

Each legal boundary change was accomplished in accordance with applicable state law.
The Place name, Action, Type, and Effective Date shown for each change is correct.
The Census Bureau’s list is complete as of January 1, 2012.

When reviewing the data file, you may determine that a record(s) in the Census Bureau’s data file does not match your records. If this occurs, please research if specific attributes of the change are incorrect or if the boundary update was not completed in accordance with your state law(s). The Census Bureau has provided disc(s) containing PDFs of the mapsheets received during the 2012 Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) depicting the boundary change.

The mapsheets are named using the following naming convention:

<State>_<BAS Year>_<Place Name>_<Mapsheet Number or Type>.pdf

To find a boundary change on a mapsheet:

Locate the date provided in the List 2 Keying Date field. This field will have the BAS year the change was received.
Look at each mapsheet provided for the place, beginning with the ones that have only numeric characters in the last portion of the file name. The majority of the changes are digitized from these BAS maps. If you are unable to find the change on one of those mapsheets, refer to the other PDF files.

These files contain supplementary maps that are used from time to time to directly digitize into our database.

Note: Some places provide the Census Bureau with the legal documentation along with maps of boundary changes. If you wish to view the legal documentation for a change, please send an e-mail to [email protected]. In the e-mail, please specify the entity that the change affected, and the attribute information associated with the change in the List 2. The Census Bureau will research to determine if we have any supplemental information for this change.

Once you have completed the review of the List 2 and the accompanying BAS maps, you should be able to determine:

If the boundary change was accomplished in accordance with applicable state laws
If there was an error in the depiction of the boundary change and/or attribute information, or
If the boundary change was not accomplished in accordance with applicable state laws.

If a boundary change was accomplished in accordance with your state law and the attribute data are correct:

In the Cert. field, enter a “C” to indicate that you certify the change.

If a boundary update is missing from the Census Bureau’s records:

Type the entity’s name where the change occurred in the Entity name field, “annexation” or “detachment” into the Action Update field, “ordinance”, “resolution”, “local law”, “state-level action”, or “other” into the Type Update field, the legal document number into the Number Update field, the effective date into the Effective Date Update field, and if you are aware of the acreage, the acreage into the Acreage Update field.
In the Cert. field, enter an “A” to inform the Census Bureau that an additional boundary change should be added to our database.

If a boundary change was not accomplished in accordance with applicable state law, you may either:

Leave the Cert. field blank, which will indicate that your state government does not certify the change but you do not wish to reverse the change at this time, or
In the Cert. field, enter an “R” to reverse the change. In the blank cell to the right of the Cert. field, please note the reason as well as any additional information about the reversal.

If a portion or all of the attribute data for the boundary change is incorrect:

Type the correct data in the field to the right of the incorrect data. For example, if the information in the Action field is incorrect, type the correct information in the Action Update field to the right of the Action field. If the date in which the change is effective is incorrect, enter the correct date in the Effective Date Update field. Blank update fields are also provided if you need to change the Type, Number, and Acreage information.
In the Cert. field, enter an “E” to notify the Census Bureau that a portion or all the attributes for this record must be edited.

If a boundary update is a duplicate of an already existing boundary change:

In the Cert. field, enter an “X”.
In the Memo field, enter duplicate ID.

Upon completion of your review of List 2, please certify the statement at the bottom of the data file. In order to certify this statement, type your name, title, and the date of your concurrence below the provided statement.

4. List 3 (Incorporated Places)

4.1 Data File Description

The List 3 data file shows the names of all active and inactive incorporated places in your state according to the Census Bureau’s records. An active incorporated place is one that has officials (elected or appointed) and has the legal capacity to raise revenues and conduct general governmental activities. Table 4 provides an explanation of each of the fields in the data file.

Column	Field Name	Description
A	County Name	The county (or borough or census area in Alaska, parish for Louisiana) where each incorporated place is located.
B	Place Name and LSAD	Lists the places in alphabetical order within the county (borough/census area in Alaska, parish for Louisiana). If a place exists in multiple counties, it will be listed under each county in which it is located. The LSAD is the expanded legal/statistical area description, such as city, town, village, etc.
C	Part Flag	If the entity is located within multiple counties, this field will be populated by the letter “P” otherwise this field will be blank.
D	FS	Lists the functional status (FS) of the entity. (See Appendix B for definitions)
E	FS Update	Will be initially blank so that you may provide edits to the information in the FS field without overwriting original data.
F	Cert.	Will be initially blank so that you may indicate the records that you certify as correct and complete.
G	Memo	Will be initially blank so that you may include notes.

Table 4: List 3 Field Descriptions

Example 4.1.1: List 3

4.2 Instructions

Please review the List 3 data file to ensure that it provides a complete and correct inventory of all incorporated places that were governmentally active or inactive.

If a place is located in multiple counties in your records, please review the file to ensure that it is listed under each applicable county. Places that occur in multiple counties in the Census Bureau’s database will have “P” entered in column C of the data file.

For all records that you deem to be correct and complete:

In the Cert. field, type a “C” to indicate you certify the record.”

If a place is missing from the data file:

In a new row at the bottom of the data file, type the place’s county’s name in the County Name field, the place’s name in the Place name field, the entity type (such as city) in the LSAD field, “active” or “inactive” in the FS field, and the effective date when the place legally incorporated in the Memo field.

Note: If the place exists in two or more counties, type all the county names, separated by commas, into the County Name field.

In the Cert. field, enter “A” which will inform the Census Bureau that this place should be added to the database.

If a place is no longer incorporated:

In the Memo field, provide the effective date of the status change.
In the Cert. field, type an “R” to notify the Census Bureau that the place should be removed from the database.

If the functional status of a place has changed:

In the FS Update field, enter the correct functional status.
In the Memo field, enter the effective date of the status change.
In the Cert. field, type an “E” to notify the Census Bureau that the functional status must be edited in the database.

Upon completion of your review of the List 3 data file, please certify the statement at the bottom of the data file. In order to certify this statement, type your name, title, and the date of your concurrence below the provided statement.

5. List 4 (Minor Civil Divisions)

5.1 Data File Description

The List 4 data file shows the names of all active and inactive minor civil divisions (MCDs) in your state according to the Census Bureau’s records. An active MCD operates as a governmental unit, having officials (elected or appointed), and having the legal capacity to raise revenues and conduct general governmental activities. States that do not have MCDs will receive the List 4 data file that will contain all the county names and the following statement: “no active or inactive mcds in the county.” See Appendix B for a list of states that have MCDs.

This data file shows the names of all governmentally active or inactive MCDs in your state, according to U.S. Census Bureau’s records. The file does not include MCDs that the Census Bureau considers to be unorganized. Table 5 provides an explanation of the fields in the data file.

Column	Field Name	Description
A	County name	The county where each entity is located.
B	MCD Name LSAD county	Lists minor civil divisions (MCDs) in alphabetical order within the state. The LSAD is the expanded legal/statistical area description, such as town or township.
C	FS	Lists the functional status (FS) of the entity. (See Appendix C for definitions)
D	FS Update	Will be initially blank so that you may provide an updated functional status without overwriting original data in the FS field.
E	Cert.	Will be initially blank so that you may indicate the records that you certify as correct and complete.
F	Memo	Will be initially blank so that you may include any notes you have regarding the record.

Table 5: List 4 Field Descriptions

Example 5.1.1: List 4

5.2 Instructions

Please review the List 4 data file to ensure that it provides a complete and correct inventory of all MCDs that were governmentally active or inactive.

For all records that you deem to be correct and complete:

In the Cert. field, type a “C” to indicate you certify the record.

If an entity that is missing from the data file:

In a new row at the bottom of the data file, type the MCD’s name followed by its legal area description (such as town or township) in the MCD name and LSAD field, “active” or “inactive” in the FS Update field, and the effective date when the MCD organized in the Memo field.
In the Cert. field, type “A” which will inform the Census Bureau that this MCD should be added to the database.

If an MCD is no longer organized:

In the Memo field, provide the effective date when the MCD ceased to exist.
In the Cert. field, type an “R” to notify the Census Bureau that the MCD should be removed from the database.

If the functional status of an MCD has changed:

In the FS Update field, enter the correct functional status.
In the Memo field, enter the effective date of the status change.
In the Cert. field, enter an “E” to notify the Census Bureau that the functional status must be edited in the database.

Upon completion of your review of the List 4 data file, please certify the statement at the bottom of the data file. In order to certify this statement, type your name, title, and the date of your concurrence below the provided statement.

6. Returning updates

Before returning the edited files, compress them into a zip file titled:

SCRT_2012_ST##.zip (## being your 2-digit state code).

The edited zipped file may be returned to the Census Bureau via the Census Bureau’s FTP site. Please submit the data through the Census Bureau’s “Send A File” FTP utility. The Send a File Utility is located at: https://secure.census.gov/cgi-bin/sendfile

In a web browser, navigate to https://secure.census.gov/cgi-bin/sendfile
In the password window:

In the User name field, enter: geostcert
In the Password field, enter GEO2upload2013!
Click OK

In the Send a File Utility window, in the Source Information section, next to the File to Send field, click the Browse… button.
In the Choose file window, navigate to the your folder containing the State Certification submission zip file, select the zip file, and then click Open.
In the Notify by E-mail section:

In the Sender’s Email Address field, enter your email address.
Leave the Census Bureau Employee’s E-Mail Address field blank; Census will automatically receive an email when the return file is submitted.
Click Upload.

You will receive a confirmation email from a Census staff person acknowledging receipt of your State Certification submission.

Note: If you have any questions about the “Send A File” FTP utility, please contact the Legal Areas Team at 301-763-1099 or e-mail: [email protected]v.

Appendix A: Paperwork Reduction Work

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the BAS review will take most respondents from 1 to 2 hours to complete. This includes the time needed to read the instructions, assemble materials, organize and review the information, and report any needed changes. This estimate is based on 80 percent of all areas having few or no changes. However, for areas with many changes it may take 20 hours or longer to complete the survey. Please send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to:

Paperwork Project 0607-0151

U.S. Census Bureau

4600 Silver Hill Road

Room 3K138

Washington, DC 20233

Or you may e-mail comments to:

[email protected]

Note: Use Paperwork Project 0607-0151 as the subject.

Please include a copy of your message addressed to:

[email protected]

Appendix B: States with Functioning and Nonfunctioning MCDs

Arkansas New Hampshire*

Connecticut* New Jersey*

Illinois* New York*

Indiana* North Carolina

Iowa North Dakota*

Kansas* Ohio*

Louisiana Pennsylvania*

Maine* Rhode Island*

Maryland South Dakota*

Massachusetts* Tennessee

Michigan* Vermont*

Minnesota* Virginia

Mississippi West Virginia

Missouri* Wisconsin*

Nebraska*

* – States with functioning MCDs

Appendix C: Definitions

Active governmental unit – a functioning governmental unit that is exercising its legal capacity to have elected or appointed officials, raise revenues, and perform governmental activities (such as enactment of laws, provision of services, and entering into contracts).

Functional Status – the administrative or legal activities associated with performing the legally prescribed functions of a governmental unit. If the administrative or legal entity is functioning, its functional status is either active or inactive.

Functioning governmental unit – a general-purpose government that has the legal capacity to elect or appoint officials, raise revenues, provide services, and enter into contracts. Functional governments may have an active or inactive functional status.

Governmental Unit – a geographic entity established by legal action, and for the purpose of implementing administrative or governmental functions. Most governmental units have officially recognized boundaries. (Ex: incorporated places and MCDs)

Inactive governmental unit – a functioning governmental unit that is not currently exercising its legal capacity to have elected or appointed officials; thus, it is not raising revenue or providing services.

Incorporated place – a type of governmental unit, incorporated under State law as a city, town (except in New England, New York, and Wisconsin), borough (except in Alaska and New York), or village, having legally prescribed limits, powers, and functions.

Minor Civil Division (MCD) – a type of governmental unit that is the primary legal subdivision of a county for 29 states, created to govern or administer an area rather than a specific population. The several types of MCDs are identified by a variety of terms, such as town, township, and district, and include both functioning and nonfunctioning governmental units.

Nonfunctioning governmental unit – a legally defined governmental unit that does not have the legal capacity to have appointed or elected officials, raise revenues, or perform general purpose governmental activities such as enacting laws, entering into contracts, or providing services.

Unorganized Territory (UT) – the statistical equivalent of an MCD encompassing contiguous area that is not within any functioning/nonfunctioning MCD or incorporated place.

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