By CARL E. FEATHER - Staff Writer - cfeather@starbeacon.com
A 2010 Census undercount of just 2 percent, or 2012 persons, will cost Ashtabula County $24.1 million in federal funds over the next decade, according to estimates released by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown Wednesday.
Brown, in a conference call, said $140 billion in federal funding will be affected directly by the 2010 Census data collected in Ohio.
The census forms should arrive in mailboxes this week, if they have not already done so. Ideally, residents will complete the forms and have them in the mail by Census Day, April 1.
“Critical funds that promote economic development, keep our communities safe and help fund those in need are at stake,” Brown said. “The (2010) Census determines the future of our state. It determines the resources, services and funding we’ll have available to ensure our children grow up with the education and medical care they need. It determines the funding we’ll have to train our workers and ensure our small businesses can grow.”
Ashtabula County commissioners point out that every person who lives in the county truly counts because the county’s population is so close to the 100,000 mark, a threshold for many programs. The county’s 2008 population estimate was 100,648, and the trend has been a declining population. The official 2000 Census number was 102,728.
Declining population is also a problem for Ohio. Brown said Ohio probably will emerge from the process as the only state to lose congressional districts, possibly falling to 16 districts, from 18.
“Ohio is most likely to lose two congressional districts,” Brown said. That would drop representation from the Buckeye state to the level that existed in 1830. He said strong 2010 Census participation by all residents could cut that loss to one district.
“It matters in terms of what can be brought home from Ohio,” Brown said, explaining the importance of having strong congressional representation for Ohio.
The difficult economic environment in the state makes the 2010 Census both important and challenging. Brown said the funding that’s based on census data helps pay for programs that will assist Ohioans struggling to survive in the current recession.
At the same time, those whose lives have been devastated by a foreclosure that forced them to share a house with friends or family, or to move into a shelter, are at risk of not being counted. Brown assured them the information they provide on the form will not be shared with police, immigration officials or social service agencies.
He said that a prompt response to the form, which is written at a fourth-grade reading level and takes about 10 minutes to complete, will save taxpayers money. While it costs the government postage for the return envelope, the cost of sending a census worker to a residence is $57.
Census takers will hit the streets starting in April.
According to data from the Ohio Department of Development, Ashtabula County’s mail response rate for the 2000 Census was less than stellar. It ranged from 70 to 80 percent in most townships to only 50 to 60 percent in the Richmond-Andover area and Geneva-on-the-Lake. The percentages include vacant housing structures.
