AGENDA CAPTION:
Title
Receive a presentation and provide feedback regarding the San Marcos Complete Count Committee’s planned outreach efforts to promote the 2020 Census.
Body
Meeting date: January 7, 2020
Department: Planning & Development
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Background Information:
Once every decade, the federal government conducts a census of the entire population to count everyone in the United States. Our nation’s founders believed these data were so important that they mandated the decennial census in the Constitution. While the primary constitutional purpose of the census is to determine the number of congressional representatives for each state and ensure equal representation in the redistricting process, the census, in particular, an accurate census, is vital to cities for a variety of reasons discussed in the attached workplan.
In order to create awareness of the 2020 Census and to help communities engage and promote self-response among hard-to-count populations, the Census Bureau encourages tribal, state, and local governments; community-based organizations; faith-based groups; schools; businesses; the media; and other key sectors of a community to work together and form Complete Count Committees. These committees are comprised of a broad spectrum of government and community leaders and represent the trusted voices necessary to develop and implement a 2020 Census awareness campaign. These community leaders are able to utilize their knowledge of and connections in the local community to accurately identify hard-to-count populations and create localized strategies and messaging that resonates with the population in their respective area. They are the trusted voices and are best suited to mobilize community resources in an efficient manner.
The San Marcos Complete Count Committee is a 21-person committee (currently 17 filled positions) that was created by City Council via Resolution 2019-35R. Over four separate meetings the CCC has worked to understand their target outreach audience and develop strategies to effectively promote the census and increase self-response amongst San Marcos residents. The attached workplan outlines the Committee’s strategic approach, planned activities, identified partners, and general timeline for outreach activities. The Committee is presenting this workplan to the Council to inform them of the outreach they will be doing and to receive feedback.
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