Mayor Toby Barker – backed by Hub City residents from all walks of life Tuesday afternoon – emphasized the importance of the 2020 census for Hattiesburg on the front steps of City Hall.
He announced the kickoff for collecting the information that will determine how the Hub City is represented locally, in the state and in the nation.
“This is the countdown on the most important initiative that Hattiesburg will undertake this year and possibly for the next several years,” Barker said. “Every 10 years the United States Constitution requires that a census enumeration is conducted of every man, woman, and child since 1790. This count has dictated how dollars flow and how representation is distributed.”
For Hattiesburg the stakes have never been higher, Barker noted. So, he has asked people to stand behind him in this endeavor.
“They know our most important mission over the next month and throughout the spring is to make sure that someone from every household and every apartment takes 10 minutes or less to fill out their census form,” he said. “Here are why the stakes are so high. First of all, with dollars and cents: infrastructure, transportation, public education (which means Title I money for our public schools), public safety, public health – Medicaid, CHIPS, Medicare, SNAP, and WIC funding are derived from the population given by the Census. You can look at the 2018 infrastructure plan that was passed by the Legislature; half the money that comes to the cities for roads and sewer and water come from your population.
“Secondly it’s representation,” Barker continued. “An accurate census ensures fair representation at all levels of government from city council to the state Legislature to Congress.
Barker stressed the importance of an accurate and complete count.
“It cannot be overstated,” he said. “In Hattiesburg, we know that is difficult because we know there is a high turnover in people. What makes it so dynamic and so culturally diverse is also sometimes what makes it so challenging to count everyone.”
Barker said Hattiesburg was projected to have a population of 51,000 after the 2010 Census.
“However, we do not do a good count,” he said. “In fact, there was not a single area in our city, not a single Census tract that had a self-response of more than 37 percent. There were consequences to that poor count. Instead of coming in at 51,000, we came in at just around 46,000. We were the third-largest city to the fourth-largest, and we remember that count this year.”
The 2020 Census will be available for response online, by mail or by phone. Between March 12 and April 3, residents will receive mail only with information about self-response via an online form. Beginning in April, paper forms will be mailed to all who have not responded online.
Representatives from the Census will never ask for a citizen’s Social security number, bank account numbers or anything outside of basic demographic questions regarding a single household.
Officials also want to make sure all residents know that information collected is constitutionally and federally protected by law, and it will never be shared with law enforcement agencies like DHS, ICE, FBI, etc. Census data will only be used for statistical purposes.
The City of Hattiesburg will partner with local businesses, organizations and events to help promote and incentivize census participation. Information regarding those items and additional information can be accessed via hattiesburgcounts.com.
Key dates for the Census-related communication include:
*March 12–21: Residents will receive a flier by mail about self-response online.
*March 16–24: Residents will receive a letter with instructions and a reminder about self-response online.
*March 26–April 3: Residents will receive a postcard as a reminder about self-response online.
*April 8–17: Paper questionnaires will be sent to non-self-responders to date.
*April 20–27: Residents will receive a final postcard that says “It’s not too late!”
*May 13–July 31: Non-response follow-up will begin in person.
*July 31: The last day to respond online, by phone, or by mailed form.