County residents urged to stand up and be counted
Walker citizens urged to complete census form that will help determine federal funding for next decade
According to census data now trickling in, more Walker County residents need to stand up and be counted.
Walker County lags behind the state and national response rates with 36.9% of county residents having responded, compared with 39.1% of Georgians and 41.3% of the nation.
Joe Legge, Walker County public relations director, is helping to spearhead the local complete count initiative. He urges residents to complete their form because $2,300 flows into the county each year for every person counted in Walker County during the census.
LaFayette and Lookout Mountain buck the county average at 46.1% and 48.1% participation, respectively. Chickamauga’s participation rate is at 39.7%, Rossville’s at 40.6% and the Kensington area’s at 28.4%.
Census forms were mailed recently for residents to complete. Residents may complete their census survey online, by mail or by phone. Completing the short form typically takes less than 10 minutes, and the longer form could take 30 minutes to complete.
Census records show that only 76% of Walker County residents
self-reported during the 2010 Census.
That under-count reduced federal funding to the county for the last decade because census data determines funding for programs that feed children, support schools,
train workers and improve emergency services, healthcare, transportation and more than 300 other programs.
To compare national, state and local response rates, go to https://2020census.gov/en/response-rates.html?utm_camp aign=20200327msc20s1ccalln l&utm_medium=email&utm_ source=govdelivery.