April 1, 2010, is Census day and many of you will be asking, why? Without trying to give a civics lesson, I would like to present some arguments for participating with the Census. 

As a democracy, our country is dependent on fair and equitable representation in Congress and dispersal of resources. There are 435 representatives in the Congress and they are allocated to the states based on the population of the states. Congressional districts are delineated by population and funds are dispersed by population. Each year more than $300 billion are allocated to local, state, and tribal governments based on Census results, this amount is approximately equal to $1,000 for each man, woman, and child in Utah. 

Clinton City has benefitted directly from this funding in the form of Community Development Block Grants and funding sources related to public safety, trees, and recreation. During the 2000 Census 68% of the citizens of Utah responded to the Census Survey. Millions of dollars were spent trying to track down the other 32% and it is estimated that 38,000 of Utah citizens were not counted at that time.  

The Census survey has ten questions; it will only take ten minutes. For more information visit the 2010 Census Web site at http://www.census.gov/2010. Please complete the survey when it comes in the mail.