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City, county must work together for census
Staff Report
Published October 17, 2009
The 2010 census count is an all-important event for the area and especially for Lamar County, which consistently has been under-counted in recent decades.
No one knows how much the under counting has cost the county in terms of dollars in grants and other federal and state funds earmarked for Lamar County.
But no one doubts it has cost the county much and often.
The county’s population today is listed as an estimated 48,800 residents, but even that is below what many say is the actual population of perhaps 55,000 people.
Often the size of a grant or stimulus package for the county is measured in terms of the population.
That we are being short-changed is no doubt.
When U.S. Census officials asked the City of Paris and Lamar County governments to form Complete Count Committees to ensure that the count is accurate this time, the city quickly did so.
So far the county has not, but it is a hope the City of Paris and the county can get together to make sure the population is accurately counted in both the city and outlying areas of the county.
With the growing diversity of population, there are a growing number of people who will not be counted unless someone targets those groups and finds a way to count them.
Many are fearful of the government and will avoid being questioned by the census.
Local officials can help to put those fears to rest by reaching out to those people.
It can mean many more dollars for local projects and for local residents.
It would be a shame to simply ignore something so important.
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