Census counts, officials say; funding is based on numbers

Each person who lives in a community results in costs to local government -- perhaps for schools, roads, police protection, street lights, fire protection, administration. It costs more to run a government for a community of 100,000 than it does for a community of 10,000.

For that reason, many types of federal funding passed down to the states, and state funding passed down to local government, are based on population. If a local community has a low estimate for its population, it will still have to provide services to those uncounted residents but may not get its share of more than $300 billion in federal grant funding and more in state grand funding. Local taxpayers will make up the difference.

"One thing about the shortfalls is, they've got to be covered," said Keith Gross of the U.S. Census Bureau.

"The better count that we have, the more money we have coming back to our community," said County Mayor Eugene Ray during a meeting Wednesday of the local Complete Count Committee for the 2010 Census. The committee is composed of local citizens, appointed by Ray, to help promote and facilitate participation. Luci Taylor has been named chair of the committee, succeeding Kip Green, the original chair.

Trudy Parham of the U.S. Census Bureau discussed ways that the committee can help get the word out about this year's census and increase participation, including from non-English-speaking groups.

The U.S. Constitution requires that a census be held every 10 years. The results are used not only to determine grant funding but to draw legislative districts and plan for future growth.

Census data is available to everyone, and according to Census literature many businesses use population figures to decide where to open new locations. For example, some retailers or restaurants will only locate in markets above a certain population level.

Census forms will be mailed out in February and March to all U.S. addresses. The official Census Day is April 1. Those who don't return the forms can expect an in-person visit from a Census worker. Gross said the best way to avoid an in-person visit is to send in the form promptly.

The Census is required to count everyone, citizen and non-citizen alike. The form asks basic questions such as whether the residence is owned or rented, and the name, sex, age and race of each individual resident.

Census data is only released in summary; it's a crime, punishable by up to five years in prison, for Census Bureau employees to reveal any individual's responses to the questionnaire, even to law enforcement or another government agency. Individual Census forms remain confidential for 72 years.

Some immigrants, however, may be suspicious of government representatives asking them questions.

Taylor said that St. William Catholic Church and the local Muslim mosque would be good sites to offer help for non-English-speaking citizens to understand the Census and, if necessary, to complete the forms. But Parham said that because of confidentiality issues, only Census Bureau employees can offer assistance in filling out the forms.

Parham said that any site in the county can become a "Be Counted" center, offering literature for participants to pick up. Questionnaire Assistance Centers, however, must be staffed by Census employees. The committee discussed potential sites where Questionnaire Assistance Centers could be set up.

Each person is counted as a resident of the city or county where they spend most of the year. For purposes of the Census, a college student who spends nine months out of the year on campus in Knoxville is counted as a resident of Knoxville, even though his or her legal residence may be at the family home in Shelbyville. It would not make any difference for the college student to come home for a visit on April 1, Parham said. The Census Bureau works with colleges and universities to ensure that college students are counted accurately, she added.

The committee discussed options for publicizing the Census, including local utility bills and various forms of media.

Get involved

The Census is currently hiring temporary workers to help conduct this year's count. More information is available at www.2010censusjobs.gov or (866) 861-2010. For more information about the Census in general, go to www.census.gov/2010census.