Central Iowa Times

Webster County officials want to make sure everyone takes part to make sure local government agencies get the funding they need.

Less than half of the county's residents have completed the survey so far.

The U.S. Census Bureau mailed a unique code for each household to complete the survey. If residents didn’t fill out the survey, a paper form will be mailed to their home.

Webster County Supervisor Mark Campbell said he wants everyone to get counted as it makes a difference for the funding the county receives. The population county affects sources of road funding and grant funding.

“There’s multiple times (local officials) have gone to Washington, D.C., and found that funding streams we went after have population requirements,” Campbell told The Messenger. “A lot of times Fort Dodge has fallen between that gap of 25,000 and 30,000 people, in no man’s land.”

Campbell said at times Fort Dodge’s population is too large to qualify for some grants and too small for others. The county has missed chances for grants for economic development, urban renewal and the local recreation facility.

Local governments depend on the census count to determine funding levels also.

Revenue streams that go to the state get distributed to cities according to their population. Those include public services and local infrastructure maintenance funded by local option sales tax and road use taxes.

“There’s lots of those items that a good count is relevant to,” Fort Dodge Mayor Matt Bemrich told The Messenger.

The mayor expects the city’s population to rise above the current count, 25,206.

“I’d be confused if it went down,” Bemrich told The Messenger. “The important thing to remember is that this census data is important for the next 10 years.”

A couple of minutes spent filling out the survey will make a 10-year impact. The question includes how many people are in the home, what type of home it is, name, sex and how household members are related.

The city had planned mobile questionnaire booths at public places like the library, but stay-at-home orders and widespread closures stopped that plan.

The Census Bureau made a big push for everyone to complete their survey by April 1, but the coronavirus pandemic extended its self-response phase until Aug. 14.

Visit mycensus2020.gov for more information.