Next month, people all across the country will start receiving mail from the U.S. Census Bureau. The correspondence will tell you how to respond to the 2020 Census online, by phone or by mail.
“The population number that we get from this year’s Census helps determine how many representatives have on the state and Federal level and it also sets our district boundaries."
That’s Erin Berzina with the Sioux City Complete Count Committee. She led a forum with the League of Women Voters at the Public Museum on Saturday.
She says the Census will feature nine questions and no one be asked if they are a U.S. citizen.
She stresses it’s important for everyone to take part. That’s because communities can receive funding from 316 federal programs for an average of $4,400 per individual, per year.
“If we would miss a 1,000 people in our census which is sadly possible. So, over 10 years that’s 44 million that doesn’t come to our community. That is a staggering amount of money that would be lost.”
Households will start receiving official Census Bureau mail the week of March 12th. Census workers will start going door-to-door in May to make sure everyone in the community is counted.
