In 2010, Montanans will have an opportunity to increase their state’s federal funding, and even take steps toward adding to the Big Sky state’s representation in Congress. It’s not about voting; it’s about the U.S. Census, and this year, those administering the national data-gathering campaign are redoubling their efforts in Montana.
The ten-question survey will begin appearing in the mailboxes of Montana’s urban areas in March, with federal workers depositing them on doorsteps of the state’s more sparsely populated and difficult-to-reach homes around the same time. (Census forms cannot be mailed to P.O. boxes.)
In 2000, census workers undercounted Montana’s population by 14,390 people, an error that cost the state roughly $43 million in federal funds over the last decade, according to Mary Craigle, bureau chief for the Montana Department of Commerce’s Census & Economic Information Center.
Montana’s response rate in 2000 was 68 percent, Craigle said, making it the 20th lowest ranking state in the union in terms of the percentage of its residents who respond to the survey. This resulted in about $3,000 in federal funding per Montana resident. A more accurate count in 2010 could net the state $4,000 per person, she added. That’s money for programs like Medicaid, highway improvements and flu shots that went to other states.
Local governments in Flathead County received nearly $122 million of census-based funding in 2007 alone, with federal dollars going toward firefighters assistance grants for Whitefish and Columbia Falls, water and waste systems in Kalispell and assistance for needy families in Flathead County.
All of which raises questions as to why, if the benefits of census participation are so great, Montana’s participation rate is so low? The answer seems to be twofold: Montana’s vast geography is logistically challenging to census workers, and many Montanans, particularly rural residents and tribal members, are reluctant to turn over any personal information to the government.
For the former problem, the U.S. Census Bureau plans to hire 3,000 local workers in Montana over the next three-to-six months, Craigle said, at hourly wages paying $12-$15. “There’s lots of local jobs for the Kalispell area,” she added. The extensive staffing should give the census effort in Montana the resources to reach far-flung residents more effectively.
The second issue, however, could prove thornier – particularly in light of recent statements by conservative personalities like broadcast host Glenn Beck characterizing the census as invasive, and Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann’s declaration that she planned to boycott the survey.
Craigle calls any notion that the census is invasive, “insane,” pointing out that the ten questions are currently available on-line, and require no individually indentifying information of any kind.
“Most of the time your friends could actually fill it out for you,” Craigle said. “It’s really sad to me that people don’t fill out the census.”
Not only does the census data dictate the allocation of federal dollars, it is also used by state government to redraw legislative districts, and at the local level, school districts.
“It’s not government controlling you, it’s how you take ownership over your own government,” she added.
The Census Bureau is also clearly going on the offensive to assuage concerns about turning over personal information, noting on its Web site that its employees are subject to a $25,000-fine or five years in prison for leaking any information that could identify a respondent or household.
John Donoghue is a Kalispell resident who has previously gathered information for the Census bureau throughout northwest Montana in off years, verifying the addresses and type of residences listed by prior census workers. For example, the classification of a double-wide trailer as either a mobile home or permanent residence depends upon the structure of its foundation, and his job was to make sure census workers had entered the accurate information.
In his time traveling the dirt roads of the North Fork, among other areas, Donoghue said he learned just how difficult census work can be in undeveloped areas. He interviewed for a supervisory position in the 2010 census about a year ago, and said the importance of guarding the information entered by participants in the survey was repeatedly emphasized to everyone applying for census work.
“One thing that was driven home to us was that the confidentiality of the census information was primary,” he said.
As for Congressional representation, Montana is not among the eight states projected to have an increase in lawmakers after the 2011 federal redistricting process, nor is it among the 10 states with the potential to lose a House member. But Craigle said as the population of rust belt states across the Midwest declines, and Western and Southern states continue to grow, Montana moves closer to restoring its two-person delegation in the House, potentially providing a bit of company for lone Congressman Denny Rehberg, whose constituents number among the highest of anyone in the capitol.
But that, of course, depends on the census.
“If we count everybody, then it moves us up in the queue to get one for next time,” Craigle said.