2010 Census gets under way

Greg Martin
March 13, 2010

Tally could lead to more Congressmen for Florida

Consensus: Letters to North Port with Venice addresses valid

Census 2010 Home

U.S. Census takers will be mailing out forms this week, and delivering them by foot to remote areas if necessary, in a once-every-10-years effort to count every person residing in the U.S.

It's been a constitutional duty of the federal government since George Washington was president, and it's a massive undertaking.

But it's important, according Pamela Page-Bellis, a North Port resident who is working as a regional media specialist for the Atlanta Regional Census Center.

"The Census means two things: money and power," she said. "It means power because it decides how many representatives each state has in Congress."

Florida, in fact, is expected to gain a seat or two in the 435-seat U.S. House of Representatives because the state's population has grown while other states have declined in population since 2000, she said.

She also pointed out the federal government distributes $400 billion in federal funds every year based on Census data, Page-Bellis added. She cited funding for schools, health care, roads and other infrastructure.

"So, if your community is going to get its fair share of that pot of money, we need to have a true and accurate count," she said.

Page-Bellis is one of 1.4 million temporary workers hired to conduct the Census.

In 2000, the Census asked dozens of questions about residents' heritage. This year, like the nation's first Census, the questions are limited to only the basics.

The 2010 Census asks just 10 questions, seeking residents' names, sex, date of birth, Hispanic origin, race, household relationship and whether they own or rent their homes.

Last week, the Census bureau sent letters to about 90 percent of residents of the United States -- some 120 million addresses. The letters advise residents to be on the lookout for the actual Census forms.

Despite efforts to accurately address the letters, which include having census workers canvass neighborhoods with hand-held computers, the mass mailing has not gone without addressing glitches, Page-Bellis confirmed. Some local residents who have received their letters have noted they had the write street address but wrong town.

Residents who receive letters with the wrong address are asked to write on their questionnaire "wrong address" and include the correct address and mail it in, she said.

If residents return the questionnaire, no Census taker will visit their residence.

However, to reach residents of such remote locations as bridgeless resort islands, such as Little Gasparilla Island in Charlotte County, Census takers will use "special operations" to conduct the tally, Page-Bellis said.

"They actually go out in boats," she said. "I mean, we deliver everywhere. We use dogsleds in Alaska, boats in Florida, we take whatever measures necessary, but we deliver a questionnaire to each and every residence."

Census takers also have special plans to tally residents living in far-flung rural areas, high-rise apartments, traveling with carnivals, incarcerated in prison or serving in the military, she said.

"Everybody who is breathing on American soil gets counted," she said.

While the population statistics must be delivered to the president within the year, the personal information gathered by the Census shall remain confidential for 72 years, under federal law. So, undocumented alien residents should not be afraid to complete the form, Page-Bellis said. By doing so, they'll be counted in federal funding formulas for social programs, she pointed out.

"This nation cannot move forward until people mail back the questionnaire," she said.

For the last 10 years, North Port has been getting benefits based on the Census count in 2000, when the city's population was only 22,797, according to city officials. Yet the city has more than doubled its population since 2000, and was once identified as the fourth fastest-growing city in the state. It is now the largest municipality in Sarasota County, officials say.

"We've been underfunded for 10 years; this is our opportunity to be counted," City Planner Michele Norton with North Port's Planning, Zoning and Engineering Department said in a statement.

During Monday's North Port City Commission meeting, commissioners urged residents to fill out the forms and return them.

"Filling out the U.S. Census forms is incredibly important for the entire North Port community," said commission Vice Chair Jim Blucher. "It's a program that is beyond just a count of households. This would mean more funding and services for our community."