Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, October 06, 2020
Discussion
SUBJECT:
Title
CENSUS 2020 UPDATE (CITY COUNCIL)
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I. SUMMARY
At its September 1, 2020 City Council Meeting, the City Council allocated up to $40,000 to be used in the Carson Census 2020 and on September 15, 2020 approved an additional $20,000 for a total of $60,000 towards the Census outreach efforts. The City Council requested that staff provide an update at this City Council meeting on our efforts to increase Carson’s Census Count and our expenditures.
The closing date for the Census was recently moved by the federal government from October 31 to September 30, 2020. A Federal Judge ruled last week that the head count of every U.S. resident continue through the end of October. Shortly after the Secretary of Commerce said the 2020 Census will now end on October 5, 2020.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 73.2% of Carson residents have self-reported as of the date of this staff report.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
DISCUSS and PROVIDE direction regarding the Census Count 2020.
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III. ALTERNATIVES
TAKE another action that Council deems appropriate.
IV. BACKGROUND
The goal of the 2020 Census is to have a complete and accurate count of everyone living in the United States. The count is mandated by the Constitution and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, a nonpartisan government agency. The 2020 Census counts the population in the United States and five U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Each home will receive an invitation to respond by October 5, 2020 to a short questionnaire online, by phone, or by mail.
The census provides critical data that lawmakers, business owners, teachers, and many others use to provide daily services, products, and support for the community. Every year, billions of dollars in federal funding go to hospitals, fire departments, schools, roads, and other resources based on census data.
On September 1, 2020, the City Council allocated up to $40,000 towards Census efforts and later on September 15, 2020 approved an additional $20,000 for a total of $60,000 towards the Census outreach efforts. Council asked staff to return to the next City Council meeting with an update on the status of the Census and the progress leading up to the closing date.
On September 9, 2020, the Ad-Hoc Committee consisting of Mayor Pro Tem Jim Dear and Councilmember Jawane Hilton met to discuss the use of the funds allocated by the City Council and to expand on the two City sponsored Census events: Drive-Thru Census Count and Carson Caravan.
The Drive-Thru Census Count event was held on Saturday, September 12, 2020 at the Juanita Millender-McDonald Community Center (East Side Parking Lot) from 9:00am to 1:00pm. There will be donuts and ice cream, and other giveaways to draw residents to attend. This event was geared to attract the residents who had not been counted. US Census employees were on site to assist residents with registering either using their own devices or providing electronic devices enabling residents to register.
To target the Hard-To-Count (HTC) population, the Carson Caravan traveled through neighborhoods where counts have been low. The Caravan started at the Juanita Millender-McDonald Community Center (East Side Parking Lot) on Saturday, September 26, 2020 from 10:00am to 2:00pm through various tracts in Carson that the Census Bureau has identified as having low counts.
Staff also moved promptly with AMAC, LLC Phone Bank services to provide live phone bank managed calls as requested by the City Council. Over 2,400 live calls were made in HTC locations with 174 confirmed “Yes” completed registrations. For those who had not yet been counted, information was provided to let them know how to be counted.
Several recommendations were submitted by The Lions Club (Carson Chapter), the National Federation of Filipino American Association- Greater Los Angeles Area (NAFFAA-GLA) and Delta Theta Sigma Sorority, Inc. that assisted in the efforts of the Census Count.
The final day to register and be accounted for was October 5, 2020.V. FISCAL IMPACT
On September 1, 2020, the City Council approved appropriations of up to $40,000 to reach a Complete Count of all Carson residents and on September 15, 2020 approved an additional $20,000 for a total of $60,000 towards the Census outreach efforts. As of the date of this report, just under $40K has been spent as shown in the chart below.
VI. EXHIBITS
N/A
Prepared by: David C. Roberts, Jr., Assistant City Manager