PORT ANGELES — U.S. Census workers handed out between 30 and 40 forms to people who had not received one at the Portrait of America Road Tour in Port Angeles on Monday.
It was the census tour’s only stop on the North Olympic Peninsula and one of 800 nationwide.
“It was a good day,” said Ethel Colon, a Sequim-based Census worker who helped one local citizen fill out a form.
The road tour is hitting sporting events, festivals and parades across the country to motivate citizens to mail back the 10-question census form that arrived in mailboxes in March.
“It’s a bigger show than I thought it would be,” said Port Angeles Mayor Dan Di Guilio, one of several dignitaries in attendance.
Free hats, shirts, pens and water bottles with U.S. Census logos were handed out to anyone who wanted them at the tents set up in front of the store.
An interactive video display showcased a collection of stories about how the census makes a difference.
“We’re just here to promote the census,” said Brian Maule, Silverdale-based regional census manager.”
“We’re encouraging people to get their forms back.”
The U.S. Constitution mandates a head count of every man, woman and child every 10 years. The government uses this count to allocate more than $400 billion annually to local, state and tribal governments
“It’s important that everyone gets counted,” Di Guilio said.
Since the census data is used to draw new boundaries for legislative districts, it is important to get an accurate count “so folks are adequately represented,” Di Guilio said.
He added the data helps governments determine levels of service to communities like Port Angeles.
It costs the government the price of postage to count a household if a form is mailed back.
From May 1 through the end of July, census workers will make a door-to-door count of households that do not return a form.
Eric Davenport, senior partnership specialist at the Seattle Regional Census Center, said the cost of doing door-to-door is about $60 per household.
Less than three-fourths of the population returned the form in the 2000 Census count, costing the taxpayers about $200 billion.
“People can make a difference by returning that form,” Davenport said.
“Mail it back,” Maule added.
Other dignitaries attending the Portrait of America Road Tour were Clallam County Commissioner Mike Doherty, Clallam County Department of Community Development Director John Miller, Port Angeles City Council member Cherie Kidd and Census congressional liaison Dannie Diego.
After standing at the west entrance to the Safeway store on Third Street handing out free census tote bags, Davenport estimated that 20 percent had received a form and intend to mail it back. The rest had already mailed it back or had not received a form.
Davenport said a common misconception about the Census is that information may be compromised.
Anyone who shares personal information is subject to a five-year prison sentence and $250,000 fine, Davenport said.
Since the U.S. Census does not send the form to post office boxes, households without a mailbox can expect to receive a form on their doorstep beginning on Monday, said Bill Slach, a census worker from Port Orchard.
Anyone who receives a second census form can simply toss it.
Census information, forms and assistance filling out the form are available at one of two help centers in Port Angeles.
Help centers are staffed at the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St., on Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon to 4 p.m. and the Port Angeles Library, 2210 S. Peabody St., on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
As of Monday, Jefferson County led the state in mailed census response at 67 percent. Clallam County’s mail response to the census was 66 percent.
The state average is 59 percent. The national average is 60 percent.
To view an interactive map created by the U.S. Census Bureau and Google showing census response, click on http://tinyurl.com/yh4wmx9.
For more information on the 2010 Census, visit http://2010.census.gov.
Telephone assistance is available at 1-866-872-6868.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.