Richard Hartman speaks to Rotary about the importance of the Census in 2010

Current Census 

PARKERSBURG - Having an accurate count of people in a particular area brings benefits for that area, a representative with the U.S. Census told the Parkersburg Rotary Club Monday.

Richard Hartman, senior partnership specialist for the U.S. Census 2010, told the club an accurate count will help determine how much federal money an area will receive as those allocations are based on census numbers.

This includes money allocated for education, health programs, transportation programs and recreational programs.

''It is important that we count everyone,'' he said. ''Many organizations receive grant money based on how many people they serve and those numbers are based on census figures.''

Local and state governments use census numbers to apply for aid and grants. The private business sector uses census figures to determine where it would be more inclined to place a business.

If a business, such as a pharmacy, depends on having a sizable senior population, business officials would use census figures to determine the best area to open a business.

''The census data we collect is vital to the community,'' Hartman said. ''It brings money into your community.

''(If anyone doesn't participate) they are out of that picture for 10 years. Statistically, they have left your community, but in reality they are still here using the services you provide as a community. The money they would have represented will be lost for 10 years.''

The census also helps determine where lines are drawn for an area's representation in the U.S. House of Representatives and the state Legislature.

It is important to get everyone to fill out the census questionnaire when it comes in the mail, Hartman said.

''It will be mailed out in March,'' he said. ''It is not bureaucratic junk mail. It is important to the community.''

The census will have openings for temporary employment for 900-1,000 people in West Virginia to knock on the doors of people who do not fill out the census cards and visit rural areas.

During the last census, West Virginia had a 64 percent mail-back rate compared to the national average of around 70 percent.

Census information is kept confidential with only census employees looking at it. It will be held for 72 years before it is becomes an open public record. Census workers sign an oath to keep the information they see private. A violation of that oath can result in fines and jail time.

Hartman said undocumented workers, people who have more people living in a home than their landlord knows about and others with other legal concerns, can be counted, because it is not the Census Bureau's job to turn them in. These people are still part of a community and make use of community services and need to be counted, he said.