Agenda Item Name:
Title
Presentation on the 2020 Census
End
Presenter:
Armon Lowery, US Census Outreach Specialist; Sean McLendon, Strategic Initiatives Manager
Description:
Update on the 2020 Census.
Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Hear presentation and authorize the Chair to sign and send the Chair Letter.
End
Prior Board Motions:
January 14, 2020 Consent Agenda the Board approved a $25,000 budget adjustment from general fund reserves to support census efforts.
Fiscal Consideration:
Fiscal Consideration
N/A
End
Background:
The final push to April 1, 2020 - Census Day
Alachua County will ask all institutions and employers allow their students, faculty, staff, and employees 20 minutes at work to take the census. This can be done online, by phone or by paper on Census Day, April 1, 2020.
The attached Chair Letter requests the Friendship 7 partners, all municipalities within Alachua County, and other Non-Profit Sector entities allow their patrons, staff, students, clients, faculty and staff the opportunity to complete the census on Census Day.
Counting everyone once, only once, and in the right place.
The U.S. Census Bureau is the federal government’s largest statistical agency. They are dedicated to providing current facts and figures about America’s people, places, and economy. Federal law protects the confidentiality of all individual responses the Census
Bureau collects.
The U.S. Constitution requires that each decade all communities take part in a count-or a census-of America’s population.
• The census provides vital information for citizens and about community.
• It determines how many representatives each state gets in Congress and is used to redraw district boundaries. Redistricting counts are sent to the states by March 31, 2021.
• Communities rely on census statistics to plan for a variety of resident needs including new roads, schools, and emergency services.
• Businesses use census data to determine where to open places to shop
A broad community coalition will work with the U.S. Census Bureau to help everyone in Alachua County understand the importance of being counted, especially in areas that have had low participation or that may face barriers to completing the Census. Community Institutions will support the public education efforts.
Key Complete Count Team Institutional Partners
City of Gainesville
League of Cities
Greater Gainesville Chamber of Commerce
University of Florida
Bob Graham Center for Public Service
Bob Graham Center Student Fellows
UF Bateman Competition Students
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Alachua County Library District
Alachua County School Board
Community Foundation of North Central Florida
GOAL for 2020 Census: 80% Participation
• Grow the Complete Count Team
• Institutional Efforts and Resources $
• Find Trusted Leaders, Recruit-Educate-Deploy
• Create and Deploy a High Level Outreach Effort
• Focus Strategy in Low Response Districts and Audience Segments
• Use Technology (where appropriate) but depend on people first
Critical Target Audience(s)
Primary:
• Households in 21 Census tracts that had low response rates in 2010
• Low-income communities with limited Internet or other barriers to completion and student oriented census tracts
• Community partners who work closely with the above audiences
Why the Census Matters
UF and Student Assistance Needed
Student Audience
Est. Undercount: 23,000 - 28,000
Loss per year: $22 to $27 Million to community
Statewide Federal Funds: $7.5 Billion/year
City of Gainesville, Faith, and Non-Profit Community Assistance Needed
Eastside/SWAG
Est. Under Count: 18,000 - 26,000
Loss per year: $17 to $24 Million to community
Statewide Federal Funds: $31.3 Billion/year
Estimated overall loss of Federal funding to the community over the last decade: $390,000,000
County Commission Contributed Resources
In-kind services
• Sub-campaign assistance and coordination where requested
• Office Space, computer, phone, supplies, meeting space to US Census officers
• County staff time: Economic Development Coordinator, Strategic Initiatives Manager, Communications Staff, ITS Staff
• Incidental tabling and public purpose supplies, after hours presentations
• Community website and partner information portal
• PSA template creation
• Marketing templates and branding
• Student intern support
• Display of signage and census materials across facilities
County Budget
Alachua County budget is $25,000 in material and professional service resources.
Professional services will be sought from non-profit and community groups associated with poor performing census tracts to act as message ambassadors and get-out-the-count in the community.
Breakout
$15,000 in professional services with various non-profit community groups, advertisement buys
$10,000 in public purpose material supplies.
Accomplishments to date
• Build list of Census Partner Contacts
• Identify local programs that rely on Census data.
• Participate in promoting and presenting for Speakers Bureau.
• Contribute to list of locations/events for Census promotion.
• Share Census toolkit, materials and messages with Subcommittee target audiences.
• Review outreach materials and plans; make recommendations for additional strategies.
US Census Embedded Officials
Armon Lowery, US Census Partnership Specialist has office space dedicated to his use in the County Manager Office. This has enabled the Census effort to make better use of the Federal Governments resources, helped to coordinate community presentations, information flow, and liaison with Federal officials.
No other outreach specialist, in North Florida has made more contacts than our local representative. Over 200 organizational contacts have been engaged and are offering assistance to get the word out on the census.