WXYZ DETROIT — It’s time to be counted! From now through July, everyone living in the United States, by law, must participate in the important census survey. It happens every 10 years.
Over the next few weeks, expect a mailing to your household asking you to fill out the short questionnaire, online, by phone or through the mail. It’s only 9 questions and on average will take 10 minutes to complete. That’s a mere fraction of the time many of us spend on social media each day.
It’s also a small price to pay for the $30 billion dollars of federal funding that comes to Michigan annually. Each person in this state represents about $3 thousand per year. Those government dollars go to hospitals, first responders, roads, and other vital services based on census data. The census count also directly effects the number of congressional seats in Michigan.
Ten years ago, Detroit had the worst census form return rate of any major U.S. city. As a region, we can’t let that happen again! All of our tax dollars left on the table is like writing a check to another state that did a better job of counting their people.
For the past year, many trusted organizations and local governments in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb have been working hard to increase awareness of why the census so important. We need everyone, at every level in this community, to invest in getting the Michigan 2020 Census Count right!
Participating in the census is non-partisan and, by law, completely confidential! For more information or help, please go to our “Be Counted” links on WXYZ.com.
I’m Mike Murri, V.P. & General Manager
Broadcast: February 20 - 23, 2020
