HANCOCK COUNTY — Leaders are starting to rally for the nationwide tally.
Committees have popped up across Hancock County to make sure everyone gets counted in the 2020 Census. They and the federal government plan to bolster their efforts with census takers who will head out into the field to record those who don’t do so themselves.
Tim Swarens, a media specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau, said preparations for the 2020 Census have been underway for years. The count started earlier this January in remote parts of Alaska.
“It will roll out across the country very quickly here,” Swarens said.
In February, counts will begin at group quarters — places like nursing homes and college residency halls.
By March, residents will begin receiving information in the mail on why the census is important and how to complete it. Residents will be able to participate online, by phone or by mail.
If they don’t take advantage of any of those methods, census takers will visit them starting in May.
The census is important for myriad reasons, Swarens said. It’s required by the U.S. Constitution. The country has been conducting it since 1790. It determines the number of members in the U.S. House of Representatives and in state legislatures.
“Each year, $675 billion is allocated based largely on census information,” Swarens continued, adding that money funds roads, hospitals and important services.
The U.S. Census Bureau plans to hire about 500,000 temporary workers across the country. Swarens said they’ll be in the field May through July, adding jobs last about six to eight weeks.
“It’s a huge job to count roughly 330 million people,” he said.
In Hancock County, census takers will make $25 an hour and be reimbursed for work-related mileage and expenses.
Swarens said the temporary, part-time positions provide a good opportunity because they allow for flexible hours and the ability to work nights and weekends. They’re good for students looking for a summer job and people seeking a supplement to their incomes, he added.
Those who are interested can apply at 2020Census.gov/jobs.
Complete Count Committees across the country aim to enhance census efforts at the local level.
“They involve local leaders who know their communities and who serve as trusted voices in their communities about why completing the census is important,” Swarens said.
According to information provided by the census bureau, Hancock County has Complete Count Committees in Greenfield, McCordsville and Shirley.
Donna Butler, building inspector for the city of Greenfield, heads the city’s Complete Count Committee. Among the municipal employees joining her are planning director Joanie Fitzwater and a staffer who does mapping for the city. The utilities department is also represented on the committee, Butler continued, adding census reminders will go out with utility bills.
Members of service organizations like the Elks are on the committee as well and will spread the word on the census to their members. Butler said entities that serve the under-served, such as Hancock Hope House and Kenneth Butler Memorial Soup Kitchen, will work with the committee as well by getting the word out to those they help.
“By getting those individuals and our numbers being greater, then that helps us with the funding to be able to help in those areas, as well as keep up with our infrastructure and those kinds of things,” Butler said.
Greenfield-Central Schools and Hancock Regional Hospital are also involved with the committee.
The committee will meet next on Feb. 18, when attendees will get packets on how to disperse information about the census, Butler said.
Fitzwater emphasized the importance of an accurate census to ensure residents are appropriately represented by elected officials like members of Congress.
“We won’t have adequate representation if we don’t have a good census count,” Fitzwater said.
Ryan Crum, director of planning and building for the town of McCordsville, is involved in the town’s Complete Count Committee. The group is working with partners like the town’s utility department, schools and churches, he said.
“We really targeted people that would have lots of constituents,” he said.
They can help push the message out to a lot of people, he added.
Teresa Hester, clerk-treasurer for the town of Shirley, heads the Complete Count Committee there. She said she, too, will be working to spread the word on the census.
Shirley’s population calculated by the last census in 2010 was 830. The count, Hester said, is important because it has an impact on how much public funding the town gets.
“That makes it very important, especially if you’re a small community like us where every penny counts,” she said.
Eyes will be on the unincorporated parts of Hancock County as well. Mike Dale, executive director of the county’s plan commission and board of zoning appeals, said the census bureau reaches out from time to time to verify their maps. He expects the bureau to do so this year.
“The census wants to make sure their maps are the most current, especially new housing developments,” he said.
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The U.S. Census Bureau will pay temporary workers $25 an hour in Hancock County to help conduct the 2020 Census. Apply online at 2020Census.gov/jobs.
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The 2020 Census will count every person living in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the five U.S. territories.
If you are completing the census for your household, you should count everyone who is living there as of April 1, 2020 (Census Day). That means everyone who is living and sleeping there most of the time.
Households will begin receiving census packets in the mail by March. Those who don’t complete them and return them can expect a visit by a census-taker.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
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