Officials urge you to complete census info

Columbus city officials want to remind you that you only have a few days left to fill out your Census forms.

Robin Hilber, with the city’s community development department, says the census collection process officially ends on September 30th.

She points out that accurate census numbers are needed for federal grants and programs and low numbers will affect funding for education, senior centers, food banks, housing, and other programs. If that money doesn’t come from the federal funds, it will have to be made up through local taxes. So, in effect, filling out your census form can help keep local taxes low, she said.

According to the Census Bureau, Indiana has had a self-response rate of just under 70 percent of its households respond to the survey, while Bartholomew County is at 72.5 percent and Columbus is at just over 74 percent. Jonesville has had a self-response rate of about 69 percent, Hope at 66 percent, Edinburgh at 65 percent, Hartsville at just below 58 percent, Elizabethtown at just below 40 percent and Clifford at just below 36 percent.

The Census is called for in the U.S. Constitution as the way to decide the number of each state’s representatives in Congress.