Rise up and be counted in 2010

By Steve Estes

No matter their personal fears about the process, everyone living in Monroe County is being urged to participate in the upcoming US Census.

That every person takes part when the census workers come knocking is important in many ways to the county, says District Three County Commissioner Heather Carruthers.

“The data that will be gathered is used to divvy up the dollars for the various programs we rely on to run our county,” said Carruthers. “Whether we get more or less money for those programs depends on the data gathered by the census.”

Estimates prior to the actual census count have placed Monroe County’s population at anywhere from 72,000 to 79,000.

“I don’t know how people arrived at such differing numbers, but that disparity can, depending on what program we’re talking about, give us enough to make it a viable program or leave us using local tax dollars to make up the difference,” said Carruthers.

For instance, the county is trying to get federal agencies to recognize it as a rural county because then residents can get more help with impending sewer connection fees and lateral costs.

“The census count might do that for us,” said Carruthers.

Monroe County’s participation in the census undertaking has been abysmal in years past, said Carruthers.

She says she thinks only about 51 percent of the residents here actually responded to the last mailed census questionnaire, leaving officials to guess at the actual numbers.

That’s why she says there won’t be any mailed questionnaires this time around. Instead, census workers will conduct the count door-to-door.

“It’s important that people participate, and we need to allay their fears about who will show up and what they’ll do,” said Carruthers.

Census workers will make up to six attempts to catch someone home at every domicile in the Keys, including liveaboard boats.

“One of the reasons the census is doing door-to-door this time out is the host of unique living arrangements we have here,” said Carruthers. “It’s tough to get an accurate count of liveaboard boaters who have no permanent address, so they’ll be visiting those folks.”

She says that property owners should be aware that census workers will have proper identification, including badges, when they appear at the property. They will carry a bag with the official census logo emblazoned on it, and they will have an 800 number for residents to call to verify their identity.

“In most cases, they won’t ask to come in the house or past the fence if you have one,” said Carruthers. “They won’t ask for social security numbers. They won’t ask for income levels. They need to know how many people live at the address and how do you refer to your living arrangements?”

The list of questions that will be asked can be found on the website for the 2010 Census.

There are those that have expressed concern that census workers are simply another avenue for the county to “check out” properties looking for potential code violations.

“The census does not share data with any other organization or agency,” said Carruthers. “And anyone who does share that information is subject to prison time and significant fines. The census workers are all aware of that.”

Local residents who post no trespassing signs on fences, particularly code enforcement personnel, have been some of the most vocal in that regard because the county has an anonymous code enforcement reporting policy.

“We all know that in today’s technological world, there really is no such thing as anonymous. I can’t imagine even the most vindictive person facing prison time and fines just to report someone for replacing stair treads without a permit,” said Carruthers.

There will be about 1,000 census takers working Monroe County. According to officials, about half of them will be county residents.

Locals should start receiving visits from census workers March 22. The evolution is slated to last six weeks. Workers will begin the canvassing process at around 9 a.m. and will work until about 9 p.m., including weekends.

“We appreciate the reluctance some folks may have in responding, but it’s imperative that we provide the state and federal government precise numbers so we can get the accurate share of formula grant funding,” said County Administrator Roman Gastesi. “There’s a direct relationship between this and out budget, therefore, the more grant funding we get, the lower our property taxes will be.”