By Mark Wineka
mwineka@salisburypost.com
The 2010 Census approaches.
So Salisbury City Council passed a resolution last Tuesday urging all citizens, when the time comes, to fill out and return their Census questionnaires promptly, so 2010’s count can be one of the most accurate ever.
The state demographer’s office’s certified estimate of Salisbury’s population currently stands at 30,642.
The U.S. Constitution requires the Census every 10 years, and the population numbers are used for determining representation and makeup of districts for the U.S. House of Representatives and N.C. Legislature.
Kathryn Clifton, GIS coordinator for the city, says some $300 billion in federal funds also are allocated every year based on Census data. The money helps pay for services such as health, education, transportation, child and elder care, emergency preparation and response and public works programs.
Government, nonprofits, corporations, religious organizations and local businesses rely on the Census data about population, family sizes and income for many of their decisions.
Clifton said the 2010 Census questionnaire will be simplified to a single form that most families will be able to fill out in less than 10 minutes.
The Census also employs hundreds of thousands of people. For more information about possible Census jobs in 2009 and 2010, contact 1-888-222-4936 or www.usajobs.com.