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Broward County Vice Mayor Ken Keechl addresses the media on Census Awareness Day on April 1.
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DATE: April 7, 2009
CONTACT: Kimberly Maroe, Public Information Manager
Broward County Board of County Commissioners
PHONE: 954-357-8053
EMAIL: kmaroe@broward.org
The month of April officially kicks off a countywide effort to bring awareness to the importance of Census 2010. The Broward County Board of County Commissioners officially declared April 1, 2009, as Census Awareness Day. Vice Mayor Ken Keechl, accompanied by representatives from the Broward League of Cities and the U.S. Census Bureau, held a news conference in the Broward County Governmental Center to announce the countywide public outreach effort created to provide information about the upcoming census.
"Today is an important milestone in the countdown to Census 2010, because one year from today is Census Day, as mandated by the United States Constitution," explained Vice Mayor Keechl. "In 365 days each and every household in the United States will be able to exercise one of the most basic civic duties by filling out their Decennial Census form. And each and every one of these individuals have an interest in the results of the census, the quality of their lives are directly affected by the census count."
Population data collected by the Census is used to allocate nearly $300 billion annually in federal funding for more than 170 different programs, and the same data is used to determine a community's need for additional social service grant programs. In Census 2000, the estimated undercount in Broward County was 19,824. It is estimated that each individual who remains uncounted by the Census results in a loss of approximately $1,268 of federal funding per year.
Lauderhill Commissioner and Broward League of Cities President, M. Margaret Bates spoke about the partnerships that have been formed between Broward County's municipalities through the Broward County's Census 2010 Complete Count Committee. Juanita Mainster, U.S. Census Partnership Coordinator for the State of Florida, reiterated the importance of Complete Count Committees, and commended Broward County for having one of the earliest established and most active Complete Count Committees in the country.
The goal of the Broward County Complete Count Committee is to raise awareness about the importance of the 2010 Census, reach out to hard-to-enumerate groups, and encourage participation in the Census in order to obtain an accurate count of Broward County residents. Commissioner Ilene Lieberman has been appointed by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners to serve as Chair of the Census 2010 Complete Count Committee. The mission statement of this Committee is "to guarantee a fair allocation of federal funding for important local community efforts and maintain accurate legislative representation by ensuring every Broward County resident is counted in the 2010 Census."
For more information on Broward County's Census 2010 Complete Count Committee, visit www.broward.org/census2010. To view the press conference, visit www.broward.org.
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