With a total population that’s stagnant at best, says Franklin Regional Council of Governments Executive Director Linda Dunlavy, this region depends heavily on getting an accurate count in the 2020 Census.
“Being counted by the census is really important for Franklin County,” says Dunlavy in preparation for an April 12 workshop to convey to local officials what’s at stake for the region in getting as complete a count as possible two years from now. “We know we have a problem with slow population growth,” she said. “It’s no use making it worse by not having a good and strong count. While the 2020 census is a couple of years away, the work is already beginning to do public outreach and public education. So we just want to get our municipalities thinking about it early so we can be strong community partners and get everybody to respond.”
While she admits that’s made “more challenging” by the Trump administration’s decision to ask a census question about immigration status — a move that’s being challenged by several states on the groups that it will result in an undercount — Dunlavy said the public workshop, at 6 p.m. in the Olver Transit Center in Greenfield, was planned before that decision was announced.
The demographic data collected by the Census Bureau is used to distribute more than $600 billion a year in federal funds, and provides the basis for many state funding formulas, It also determines the size of each state’s congressional delegation and the boundaries of legislative districts, say organizers of the session.
The 2010 census resulted in Massachusetts losing a congressional seat and expansion of the 1st and 2nd congressional districts. State Rep. Paul Mark, D-Peru, who co-chairs the state Legislature’s Redistricting Committee, will join with Georgia Lowe of the Census Bureau and an official from the Secretary of the State’s office to discuss the demographics of Franklin County, how census data is used and what towns can do to help ensure an accurate count.
“While the census won’t change the demographic, we want to make sure we get the best and strongest count that we can in Franklin County, so that every person is recognized,” Dunlavy said.
Massachusetts is not projected to lose another congressional seat, but this part of the state’s population is not growing as fast as the state’s overall 7.8 percent projection by 2020 — and Mark has said that with only 2 percent or less growth in either of the two western congressional districts, they are likely to skew further eastward in the redistricting likely to take effect four years from now that will be based on the 2020 census.
With the budget for the 2020 census essentially frozen at 2010 levels, Dunlavy said, there’s likely to be fewer enumerators going hunting down people who haven’t filled out the census forms.
Dunlavy said, “The Census Bureau hires enumerators to go door to door, and they do that based on mapping responses and finding dense areas on non-response. Considering that Franklin County doesn’t have any dense areas, I don’t know how active those enumerators will be in Franklin County. That’s all the more reason we need for people to understand the value of the census for the region, and to get them to respond without enumerators knocking on doors.”
She said she has been assured by census officials that “everything has been taken care of” to avoid undercounts in parts of the county where mailing addresses don’t necessarily correspond to town boundaries, but added, “I think it will be important for us to ask about that in detail.”
Dunlavy said it’s important to create “a network of community partners,” including nonprofit organizations that work with vulnerable populations, to actively work to increase participation.