Published: August 28, 2008 08:37 pm         

Be counted

Accurate census is vital for funding, development

An important tally is coming up. An accurate count will be important.

No, we’re not talking about the November election, although those numbers will be important, too.

In two years, another census will be taken across the country. Just like it’s vital for every vote to be counted in November, it’s imperative that every person be counted in 2010.

Why?

Well, for starters, population determines legislative representation both in Washington and Charleston. A shift in population means a shift in representation. If one region gains people and another loses, it could mean a gain or a loss in representation — the gain or loss of an important voice — or it could result in redistricting in both levels of government.

Last week in Beckley, Tom Witt, director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at West Virginia University, presented the results of a population study that showed that Raleigh County was 4,000 residents short of the required 50,000 residents inside a 50-mile radius needed to qualify as a Metropolitan Statistical Area.

What that means is that the county doesn’t have it as easy as an MSA to leverage grant dollars or attract new businesses and developers who feel it’s simpler and more economical to work with a single government entity rather than a handful of municipalities before making a decision on whether to set up shop or expand an existing one.

Witt emphasized it’s important that local officials do all they can to make sure everyone is counted in the 2010 census.

“That is the number you’re going to be living with the next 10 years,” he said. “You have the potential to make sure everyone counts down here.”

Witt also suggested local government and business leaders conduct an extensive public awareness program between now and 2010.

In this day and age, it seems everyone is in a rush. But when those census forms arrive in the mail in 2010, take a few minutes to fill them out and mail them back. If a census taker comes to your house, don’t slam the door in his face.

Make sure you are counted. There are too many potential political and economic consequences not to be.