“Currently, we’ve been really focused on social media, trying to get things out every couple days,” he said. The city, which had a 49.2 percent response rate as of Friday, has also pushed the message on its website and in its newsletter. The city’s social posts and messages have highlighted the benefits of filling out America’s constitutionally required headcount.
Census 2020: Coronavirus buts a ‘damper’ on some Butler County 2020 Census efforts
Communities have pushed the importance of the census as the count impacts federal funding amounts states and communities receive, as well as Ohio’s congressional delegation.
About 2,000 flyers went out with the Meals on Wheels program, said David Fehr, chair of the county’s Complete Census Committee, which consists of 15 county agencies.
It is a long-held belief Ohio will lose at least one of its 16 seats in Congress, and any under-reporting could result in a loss of two seats, Fehr and Kaelin said.
As of Friday, Ohio is tied for 10th with Washington state at a 46.7 percent of residents responding to the Census. Butler’s 48.2 percent response rate is in the top 25 percent of Ohio counties.
The majority of respondents are taking the 10-question online survey, which takes about 10 minutes, Fehr said. He anticipates that a quarter of Butler County’s population won’t be counted, which would cost the county and its communities millions of dollars. It’s estimated that Butler County has just more than 382,000 residents.
“For every person in Butler County that doesn’t get counted, that’s worth about $1,800 in federal funds we don’t get for every year,” he said.
One uncounted person alone would cost the county $18,000 in funding over the next 10 years, he said. So if a family of four isn’t county, “it adds up,” he said.
Fehr isn’t sure if Butler County will reach its 75 percent response goal given the issues with the novel coronavirus.
“It’s tough to get past the virus news to catch people’s attention,” he said. “That’s going to be our challenge.”
With people sheltering in place, he believes they do have the time to complete the short online survey or mailed questionnaire.
Ten years ago, Butler County’s response rate was around 72 percent.
Census 2020: Take the survey now
Butler County organizations and local governments have pushed the message to have residents fill out the Census, and .
Liberty Twp. has led the way among the unincorporated areas with 57.9 percent of the township responding to the Census. The township has been one of the county’s fastest-growing areas, and is expected to see a boom over the next 10 years. The township had 37,258 residents in 2010, according to the Census. The township is currently estimated to have nearly 39,700.
“The township has been getting the message out consistently over the last several weeks utilizing our social media channels and email outreach,” said Liberty Twp. spokesperson Caroline McKinney. “We’ve been sharing the importance of a fast-growing community like ours having an accurate count for funding purposes but also so businesses can make informed decisions when considering growth opportunities.”
She said having the ability to answer Census questions online has been “a great addition to the process,” she said.
The deadline to complete the Census is in August, and Census employees will be knocking on doors of those who did not take the online survey or the paper survey mailed to residences.
To take the survey, visit 2020census.gov.
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