The purpose of this workshop is to provide City Council with an update on Census 2020 preparations and the creation of a Census Complete Count Committee.

Background

Once a decade, America comes together to count every resident in the United States, creating national awareness of the importance of the census and its valuable statistics. The decennial census was first taken in 1790, as mandated by the Constitution. It counts our population and households, providing the basis for reapportioning congressional seats, redistricting, and distributing more than $675 billion in federal funds annually to support states, counties and local communities’ vital programs — impacting housing, education, transportation, employment, health care, and public policy.

Census Activities

The City is gearing up for the 2020 Census. Long Range Planning staff has participated in several programs and activities since early 2017 to prepare for Census Day: April 1, 2020. During the workshop, staff will provide a description of Census related activities completed to date, and those that will be forthcoming, including:

• Boundary and Annexation Survey
• Local Update of Census Addresses Operation
• Participant Statistical Areas Program
• New Construction Program
• Public Outreach Campaign

Census Complete Count Committee

Staff will also review the process to create a Census Complete Count Committee, which will be a City Manager Task Force. The purpose of the Committee is to:

• Increase Census response rate through a focused and structured community campaign;
• Design and implement a census awareness campaign targeted to the demographically diverse communities across the City; and
• Coordinate efforts and utilize resources across the community to achieve the most accurate and complete population count in the upcoming decennial census.