Census Complete Count Committee forms in Ellis County

*Photo courtesy of the U.S. Census Bureau*

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Ellis County has organized a group of 17 community members who want to make sure everyone in the county is counted in the 2020 census.

The response rate for the state of Kansas in 2010 was 73 percent. Ellis County was about 82 percent. The census would like to see a count rate above 90 percent.

Complete Count Committees are nonpartisan groups set up by states to make sure everyone in their state is counted on April 1, 2020. Hays Mayor Henry Schwaller is on both the state Complete Count Committee and the Ellis County Complete Count Committee.

Some of the people on the Ellis County Complete Count Committee, include HaysMed’s Edward Herrman, Hays City Manager Toby Dougherty, Ellis County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes, USD 489 Superintendent Ron Wilson, and Ellis County Commissioner Dustin Roths.

Other organizations represented include Grow Hays, United Way of Ellis County, First Call for Help, City of Ellis, City of Victoria, Ellis County Ministerial Alliance, Hays Public Library and the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce.

“We wanted to create a body to cover every single pocket of people in Ellis County,” Schwaller said, “particularly those who have been hard to count.”

Schwaller said the census is an economic and social issue.

Although the census is used to establish representation in both Topeka and Congress, census numbers are also used to determine funding for a slew of federal program.

Schwaller gave the example of the Northwest Business Corridor project. The city and county are currently seeking federal grant funds for road improvements on 230th Avenue north of Interstate 70. If the county’s population is not counted correctly, that funding could be in jeopardy.

Funding for transportation, hospitals and education facilities are also determined by census numbers.

“(For) every individual in Ellis County who is not counted, we will lose over $2,000 per non-counted person per year for the next 10 years,” Schwaller said. “That could really hamper our efforts to, again, build roads, assist Fort Hays in getting proper financial aid for students and help the medical center.

“The federal funding is key to keeping the community alive.”

Accurate population counts are also important in recruiting new businesses.

“As we talk about recruiting new businesses, either retail or tech firms, they look at whether a community is growing or not and whether we have the population to support them,” Schwaller said.

The census has determined certain populations are hard to count. These can include older residents, who might not have access to technology, college students and children ages birth to 5.

Students who are living in Hays as of April 1 need to count themselves in the census as Hays resident, Schwaller said. FHSU will have its own Complete Count Subcommittee to target the student population.

The committee can look at data on the census site, not only who was counted in 2010, but what areas may be being underreported in 2020.

“In the past, the census counts in Ellis County have been questioned,” Schwaller said. “In the 2000 census, we were a little short after having some growth in the ’90s. That really hurt the community — the City of Hays and Ellis County — because it meant we couldn’t unlock some federal programs to help us with our airport, maintain major streets in the city and get funding for programs. We just didn’t qualify.

“Their participation not only benefits the community as a whole, but it benefits them because they are counted and they are shown as living here. They’ll have better roads, better access to better services.”

Between now and the end of 2019, the committee will develop a plan to get the word out about the census. In late January, the committee will begin to promote that message, including notification that local residents will receive information on how to log on to the census website and complete their census surveys. This is the first year you will be able to complete the census online.

Schwaller said the committee hopes to have personnel at the Hays Public Library and Forsyth Library who can help residents log on to the site census website.

He emphasized the census website is encrypted and secure, and none of your personal information will be released to businesses or other government agencies. When the census data is released, it is released as aggregate data, which omits details such as your name.

Other states provide funding to promote the census — Kansas does not. The Kansas Health Initiative is providing funding to the Kansas League of Cities to promote the census. Ellis County’s committee plans to apply for a grant through that program, Schwaller said.