Director says software issues won't bust Census budget

Census Bureau Director Robert Groves said this week the 2010 census will probably come in under budget, despite some computer problems that are adding overtime costs to the collection and processing of data.

Groves said that about $2.7 billion has been budgeted for the population count, and the bureau is spending at the rate of about $1 billion a month during the official census period of May 1 through July 10, with the full force of 600,000 enumerators on the job.

Glitches in a software program used to process data have added to the bureau's workload, Groves said, with overtime expenses now above $1.6 million.