Maury County and other surrounding communities continue to surpass the state average in completing the 2020 Census.
The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 73.8% of Spring Hill residents have responded to the 10-year survey.
In neighboring Columbia, 63% of residents have responded to the national survey.
Columbia just outpaces the state’s average response rate of 62.5%.
South of Columbia, in Marshall County’s Lewisburg, 65.4% or residents have responded to the census.
North of Spring Hill, in Williamson County, the city of Franklin, 71.7% of residents have responded to this year’s census.
Local leaders continue to encourage residents across the state to participate, as the distribution of vital federal funds are determined by each community’s responses to the national survey.
More than $675 billion in funds are distributed across the country using information gathered by the national census.
Last week, Reverend Dr. Trent Ogilvie, the executive director of Columbia Housing and Redevelopment Corporation, called on residents to complete the census.
“We need that funding for affordable housing assistance, utility assistance, senior programs,” Ogilvie said. “We need it in our education system. We need Head Start and other valuable programs that determines how grant funds are spent right here in our local communities, our neighborhoods and your family.”
“It is critical that every person in the county is accounted for,” Andy Ogles, the mayor of Maury County, previously told The Daily Herald.
Columbia Vice Mayor Krista Martin has taken a leading role in the bureau’s “trusted voices” initiative, an effort to encourage traditionally underserved communities to participate in the census.
“The 2020 census is more than a population count,” Martin said in a video that continues to circulate through the community. “It is an opportunity to shape your community’s future. You are helping communities get the funding they need to help businesses make data-driven decisions to grow the economy.”
The most recent projected census results, listed in July 2019, indicate the county has a population of 94,340. During the last national census in 2010, it had a population of 80,932.
Local leaders, including Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder, began pushing the public to participate in the census in early January.
“As the county seat, and the largest municipality located within Maury County, we know that Columbia should play a lead in not just promoting the census, but also in working to ensure every person is counted,” Molder said. “We also know that Columbia’s diverse population, both in ethnicity and socio-economic status presents some challenges that aren’t present within the county. That is why it is important that we truly have an all hands on deck approach here. I am pleased that our Vice Mayor, Christa Martin, agreed to take on a leadership role with the census efforts here in Columbia and will be serving as a liaison with the Census Bureau and our efforts here at home.”
This year’s local efforts pursue additional responses from traditionally undeserved and underrepresented communities including Columbia’s Black and Latino populations.
Martin and other community organizers are encouraging leaders of the two respective communities to take part in the census.
According to a 2017 data set from Deliotte US and Datawheel, 5.07% of Columbia residents were born outside of the country.
More than 19% of the Columbia’s population is Black and 8.5% Hispanic or Latino. Less than 5% are two or more races, American Indian, Alaskan Native, Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander.
June Iljana, a media specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau, previously told The Daily Herald that the organization is working to encourage participation in underserved communities by hiring members of those communities as representatives to serve as census agents. The workers act as “trusted voices” in their respective communities encouraging their neighbors to take part in the survey.
Taken every 10 years, the national census provides a snapshot of the nation. The 2020 Census is the United State’s 24th nationwide survey.
“There is no risk in answering honestly to the census,” Iljana said. “We never share an individual’s information with any other agency.”
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How to complete the census?
The census can be completed by phone, mail or online. Earlier this year, the bureau launched an update to its website that includes content in more than 50 languages. The updates also include assistance guides and videos that explain how to complete the 2020 census questionnaire
The form is available online at https://2020census.gov/.
This year marks the first time the census can be completed online or by phone.
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Census workers in Spring Hill
The Spring Hill Police Department is advising residents that census takers have been working throughout the city in recent days.
“There will be employees that have both temporary and permanent identification cards,” Det. Michael Foster said in a public statement shared by the department earlier this month.
“The IDs should have the worker’s name, picture, and an expiration date,” Foster said.
Any question regarding a worker’s authenticity, should be directed to the department’s non-emergency phone number at (931) 486-2632.
Those with inquiries can also request to speak with a U.S. Census representative at 1 (800) 262-4236.
“As always, they will not ask you for payment in the form of gift cards or in any other manner,” Foster said.
