Tioga County, N.Y. kicks-off Census 2010

By Wendy Post (TIMES SHAMROCK WRITER)
Published: March 14, 2010

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Times Shamrock Photo/WENDY POST Janice Young (center), from the U.S. Census Bureau, cuts a ribbon on Friday in Tioga County, N.Y. to officiate Census 2010.

Photo: N/A, License: N/A

Times Shamrock Photo/WENDY POST Janice Young (center), from the U.S. Census Bureau, cuts a ribbon on Friday in Tioga County, N.Y. to officiate Census 2010.

TIOGA COUNTY, N.Y. - On Friday, members from the U.S. Census Bureau gathered with guests and local dignitaries at the Tioga County Chamber of Commerce office in Owego, N.Y. to celebrate and kick-off Census 2010.

According to Janice Young, from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Census 2010 Complete Counts Committee hopes to achieve a 50,000 person count upon completion in Tioga County. If it doesn't, according to Young, it could affect Congressional seats and funding provided to Tioga County.

"If it falls under 50,000," said Young, "one - or possibly even two Congressional seats could be affected." Currently, Congressman Maurice Hinchey, Congressman Tom O'Mara, and Congressman Michael Arcuri represent portions of the Tioga County, N.Y., district.

In a press release received from Congressman Hinchey on Friday, he urged local residents to participate in the Census, and talked of how the population will determine the number of seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives. He also spoke of how federal funding is affected.

"The information the U.S. Census Bureau collects on the U.S. population helps to determine how more than $400 billion dollars in federal funding is spent each year on infrastructure and for services such as hospitals, job training centers, schools, senior centers, and emergency services, as well as bridges, roads and other public works projects," stated Hinchey in his release.

Elaine Jardine, from the Tioga County Planning Committee, also emphasized the importance of being counted in the Census. "There is about $400 billion nationwide that gets distributed based on these numbers," said Jardine of the Census. "We stand at risk of losing significant funding if we fall below the 50,000 mark."

In a quick glance of Tioga County, N.Y., provided by the U.S. Census Bureau for 2008, they estimated the current population at 50,171 - down 3.1 percent from the 2000 Census.

Forms for Census 2010, according to Young, will be arriving in the mail this week. Young also noted that once completed and returned, it will take until the end of 2011 for the complete results to be generated.

The 2010 Census form, according to the Census Bureau, is one of the shortest in U.S. history, consisting of only ten questions. The Census contains questions about the number of people living at a residence, and some demographic information about them.

To learn more about the Census, visit http://2010.census.gov.

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