Today the Christian County Complete Count Committee announced each of its member cities has joined the ranks of those matching or surpassing their 2000 Census mail participation rates.  The Committee is co-chaired by Hopkinsville Mayor Dan Kemp and County Judge/Executive Steve Tribble.  Mayor Kemp said, “We are extremely pleased with Christian County’s tremendous response.  We couldn’t have done it without the help of over 60 Census partners and every member of the community who has taken the time to return their forms.”

Thus far in 2010, Kentucky and Christian County households have just exceeded their 2000 Census return rates and are reporting returns of 71% and 69% respectively.  Judge Tribble added, “I am thrilled to report significant improvements in response rates of several Christian County cities.”  Among those are Lafayette, Pembroke, and Crofton which have seen responses increase by 17%, 10%, and 6% respectively. 

Response rates for other Christian County cities are below:

Both Kemp and Tribble note it’s not too late to avoid a visit from a Census worker.  All are encouraged to phone or mail in their Census response by tomorrow, the final day for residents across America to mail back their 2010 Census questionnaires.  Households that return their forms after Friday, April 16, may still be visited by Census workers, who begin going door-to-door to collect Census responses on May 1.

If you did not receive a Census form or cannot locate it, you may provide your Census responses over the phone to the Telephone Questionnaire Assistance Center at 1-866-872-6868 for English; 1-866-928-2010 for Spanish; or 1-866-783-2010 for TDD (Telephone Display Device for the hearing impaired). 

If you prefer to return your Census form by mail but lost or did not receive one, you may pick up a form at a Questionnaire Assistance Center or Be Counted site near you.  A list of Christian County sites follows.

The Census Bureau saves about $85 million in operational costs for every percentage point increase in the nation's participation rate by mail.  If every household completed and mailed back their Census form, taxpayers could reduce the cost of taking the Census and save $1.5 billion.  In 2000, the nation reversed a three-decade decline in mail response rates and saved $305 million.

ABOUT THE 2010 CENSUS

The 2010 Census is a count of everyone living in the United States and is mandated by the U.S. Constitution. Census data are used to apportion congressional seats to states, to distribute more than $400 billion in federal funds to tribal, state and local governments each year and to make decisions about what community services to provide. The 2010 Census form is one of the shortest in U.S. history, consisting of 10 questions, taking about 10 minutes to complete. Strict confidentiality laws protect the respondents and the information they provide.