About $400 billion a year are allocated to help American cities and counties operate more efficiently, but Chattanooga and Hamilton County can claim their fair share only if all residents are counted in the 2010 census, officials said Friday.
“The money is going to be spent. We want to make sure Tennessee gets its fair share,” said Michael Hall, assistant regional census manager.
Equitable distribution will not happen if everyone doesn’t participate, said Dr. Bernie Miller, chairman of the U.S. Census Bureau’s African American Advisory Committee and pastor of New Covenant Fellowship Church.
Both men spoke Friday at the grand opening of the local census office in Eastgate Town Center.
The Chattanooga office will support census operations in six counties — Bradley, Hamilton, Loudon, McMinn, Monroe and Polk — officials said.
Karen Stanley, the 2010 census local office manager, was among many staff who led office tours Friday, but the office will be closed next week. Access will be restricted to only sworn census staff to secure the privacy of information, she said.
Any census worker who personally identifies a census participant is subject to a $250,000 fine and five years in prison, officials said.
“We are very serious about maintaining confidentiality,” Mr. Hall said.
More than 700,000 blacks were not counted in the 2000 census, Dr. Miller said. Hispanics and other minority groups also were undercounted, he said.
Some people fail to fill out the census because they think that they will be found out if they are living somewhere illegally, he said. However, no law enforcement agent will come to an address based on information filled out during the census, Dr. Miller said.
For every 1 percent of people who are uncounted in the census, an area loses at least $80 million that could be used for road repairs, new schools and other infrastructure, officials said.
Census surveys will be mailed in March. The short 2010 census form will include 10 questions that will take about 10 minutes to answer, officials said. Those 10 questions will be used to shape America for the next 10 years, officials said.
“It’s power and it’s money,” Ms. Stanley said. “The power comes from the fact that turning in the census form represents our ability to get additional representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives.”
People will be employed to knock door to door at addresses that have not responded to the census, officials said.
The first results of the census will be reported in December, officials said.