Officials strongly urge Census participation

Census results help decide how more than $675 billion in federal funds are spent across the country, how congressional districts are allotted and how state legislative and school district lines are drawn

The Times

By the numbers: Bucks County Commissioners urge Bucks County residents to participate in the upcoming Census, which will help decide how more than $675 billion in federal funds are spent across the country. SOURCE: BUCKSCOUNTY.ORG

As preparations for next year’s decennial U.S. Census kick further into gear, the Bucks County Commissioners stressed the importance of full participation by county residents.

“The importance of a complete and accurate 2020 Census cannot be overstated,” Commissioner Diane M. Ellis-Marseglia said at the commissioners’ semimonthly meeting, held in the Great Room at Sand Castle Winery in Erwinna.

Proclaiming “2020 Census Full Participation Day” in Bucks County, Marseglia noted that Census results help decide how more than $675 billion in federal funds are spent across the country, how congressional districts are allotted and how state legislative and school district lines are drawn.

Failure to achieve a full count, she added, could deny the county up to $2,000 in federal funding for each person not counted, or $20,000 over the span of a decade.

Marseglia’s statements came as the commissioners presented a proclamation of appreciation and support to Adela Moraux, a partnership specialist assigned to Bucks County by the Philadelphia Regional Census Center.

Moraux told the commissioners that she has been crisscrossing the county, meeting with municipal officials and others to advocate for full participation in the Census and to organize volunteer Complete Count Committees in Bucks County to work toward that goal.

“We appreciate your commitment to inform and motivate the people of Bucks County to engage in the Census questionnaire,” Moraux said. “It’s easy, it’s safe, it’s important and, for the first time, you’ll be able to answer the questionnaire online, by mail and by phone.”

Moraux said Bucks County residents should expect to be seeing more promotional and informational material about the Census over the summer, and that by the middle of March 2020, residents will begin receiving invitations by mail to respond to the Census questionnaire via one of the available methods.

“You can shape your county,” she said. “You can shape your future by filling out the Census form.”