Sun Herald call to action: Coast residents, mail back your Census form

Census needs a better response from the Coast

Participation in the 2010 Census is far from admirable along the Coast.

Friday is the deadline for mailing in the Census forms sent out last month. Even though the Census is mandated by the Constitution and compliance is required by federal law, the percentage of Coast residents responding is disheartening.

Based on the number of forms mailed out, by midweek 67 percent of all American households and 61 percent of all Mississippi households had sent in their Census forms. But along the Coast, the response rate was as low as:

Story: Census responses along the Coast
47 percent in Bay St. Louis.

46 percent in Pass Christian.

45 percent in Waveland.

The response rate on the Coast was best, but still shy of praiseworthy, in:

Ocean Springs, 66 percent.

Long Beach and Gautier, 64 percent each.

Moss Point, 63 percent.

If the form is not mailed in, a Census worker will have to be dispatched to the address to verify the number of residents, adding unnecessary cost to the Census process. So please, if you haven’t responded, do so by Friday. The tax dollars you save could be your own.



Read more: http://www.sunherald.com/2010/04/14/2099722/census-needs-a-better-response.html#ixzz0lBbXrpd6