Guilderland must do better on census

To the Editor:

Town of Guilderland residents have some work to do involving census registration. As of the end of July, our town-wide response rate was just 56 percent. That number would be even lower if the village of Altamont had not been so high (73 percent). The overall county rate was 62 percent.

What’s the big deal on census registration? In Albany County, 40 percent of all county sales tax is distributed to the county’s municipalities based on their population. In a typical year, that totals about $116 million.

How the federal government spends $1.5 trillion annually on aid to state and local governments, along with nonprofits who provide needed services, is based on the numbers collected during the census. School lunches, child health insurance, child-care grants, and Medicaid are just a few of the programs affected. Each state’s number of congressional representatives is determined by population.

If you have not registered, visit www.2020census.gov or call 844-330-2020. There is nothing difficult about it; there are no questions involving your political views and your responses are confidential. The deadline is Sept. 30, so act today.

It is an easy way to help yourself and your neighbors. So what do you say, Guilderland? Show us you’ve got some game!

Mark Grimm

Albany County Legislator

Guilderland

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