Cook County is still short about 35 census workers, said Sarah Priest, a Partnership Specialist for the 2020 Census Bureau.
Priest, from Duluth, was in Grand Marais on Friday, February 21 to meet with the Cook County voluntary 2020 Census Committee.
The once in a decade U.S. Census Bureau count is expected to start early March and enumerators (counters) need to be hired and trained before setting out into the field, said Priest.
At $24 per hour and 58 cents per mile, the census worker position should be appealing to people who need a full-time or part time job. At least that’s the hope.
The job offers flexible hours, weekly pay and paid training.
With low participation from Cook County residents in 2000 (37 percent) and 2010 (41 percent) Priest said there is a big push to get better participation and an accurate count for the county.
Why is getting an accurate count so imperative?
The U.S. Government will distribute at least $675 billion each year to communities nationwide based on the census.
Each person is worth about $2,800 per year in cash distributed to the county from the federal government, Sarah said. Someone that lives in the county and doesn’t get counted will leave the county $28,000 short of funds over ten years—the next time a census is done– because they were missed.
Those dollars can be used to fix roads, support schools, hospitals, clinics, and fire departments.
Census results are also used to determine the number of congressional seats and Electoral College votes each state gets for the next decade.
The Public
Each household will receive a notice to complete the census online, by phone, or by mail.
If you don’t want a census taker showing up at your door, you can respond to the 2020 Census online at 2020census.gov. You can also reply by mail or by phone.
From May through July, census takers will go door-to-door to those who have not responded to the 2020 Census. Census takers are official government personnel and will provide proof of who they are, if asked.
All responses to the census are confidential and protected by law. No personal information is shared with any other government agencies or law enforcement. That includes federal, local and tribal authorities.
If you need help filling out the form, there are language identification cards for 59 non-English languages, and there is also a toll free telephone number at 2020cenus.gov. Upon request, there are also telephone devices for the hearing impaired.
By law, on December 31, 2020, the Census Bureau will report to the President of the United States the population count. At that time the number of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in each state will be determined. Every person counts. Make sure to fill out your 2020 census form so you are counted!
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