All Rights Reserved E-mail Us Mayor finds no real surprise in Fulton s population loss by Cliff Drought Mayor Michael Stafford s city is smaller about eight percent smaller. In the last 10 years roughly one out of every 13 Fulton residents have left the municipality s confines, according to Census 2000 figures released this past week. Still, city officials do not believe it s time to start hitting the panic button. Many of the greener pastures luring residents from Fulton, Stafford says, may be found in the city s own backyard. For example, Census figures show that the Town of Volney grew by roughly 7.5 percent since 1990.
People are still close enough to be shopping and spending money in Fulton.
Stafford points to the city s sales-tax revenue, a figure that is expected to account for 200,000 in 2001, as an indication of how the loss of population has not necessarily led to a proportionate loss in funds. But the migration away from the city has also included jobs. Since the 1990 Census, the area has lost employers such as Miller Brewery and Jefferson-Smurfitt. The Nestle plant, while still here, has also cut its employment, the mayor noted. The job market has not been as good as it has been in the past.