Florence Hedeen, Hubbard County complete count committee coordinator, urged the county commissioners Tuesday to include a notice about the 2020 U.S. Census with property tax statements.
She noted that the city of Park Rapids included a statement with their water billing.
The county board agreed, granting one side of a letter-sized sheet. The other side will include Hubbard County solid waste information.
Understanding that the census is taken every decade, “it is a government program that is mandated by the Constitution of the U.S. and I think it has a place, in terms of reaching out to those folks we know go somewhere else in the wintertime, and yet, Hubbard County is their home. This is where they call home,” Hedeen said.
A complete census count “affects our funding and could affect how many people we have at the legislature,” said board chair Char Christenson.
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“It’s a very big deal,” commented county commissioner Tom Krueger.
Hedeen said she appreciated the initiative of the county board to form a complete count committee.
“Our committee has been actively working since September to put out the word, to get people engaged and involved. We want people to recognize that where they call home is where they count for the census,” she said.
Residency is determined by where you lived for six months plus one day, Hedeen noted. For the first time, Hubbard County residents away for the winter can go online or by phone to complete the census.
Krueger asked County Auditor Kay Rave what kind of county resources are needed to stuff statements.
“We outsource it,” Rave said. “It costs approximately $10,000 to outsource tax statements.”
She said the county doesn’t want to set a precedent by allowing outside entities to advertise with tax statements, but she concluded, “The census is a federal mandate. It’s not a private organization asking.”
“I don’t view the census as a vendor,” Krueger quipped.
