Update on the 2020 Census.
Significant changes will take place for this 2020 Census. In prior years, the Census was conducted largely by paper mailings and manual follow-up of non-respondents. In 2020, residents will be invited to respond to the ten question Census questionnaire online, by phone and if requested, by a paper form through the mail. From March 12 to March 20, 2020 bar-coded postcards will be mailed to each address with instructions. Census will start follow-up mailing activities March 16 for addresses that have not responded.
These dates are especially significant as most Villaggio residents will be here. So, the important question that people will ask is: where do I fill it out, here or up north?
The answer may surprise you. Where you respond has nothing to do with where you vote, where your driver license is issued, whether or not you homestead, the length of time that you reside in any location, or anything else. Census simply wants you to respond and indicate the address that you wish be counted. It is not important where you are when you respond. Simply ascertain that you have chosen the address you desire to be used. The advantage to using a Villaggio address is that apportioned federal funds and representation in Congress is based on the census count. The bulleted list below indicates, as an example and not in totality, where apportioned funds may be used.
If you get a post card in Villaggio and respond, and then get another one in some northern location, you won’t be able to file twice. Census will drop all duplicates on cross-referencing. Just to reiterate, you don’t have to reside in Villaggio for any specific length of time, 6 months and a day, 5 months, or 3 months to use your Villaggio address.
According to Palm Beach County, each person counted will generate $1,600 per year for the next ten years, to fund services like:
o Hospitals, Medicare-Medicaid
o Fire Departments
o Police Departments
o Highway planning and construction
o Parks and recreation
o Community Development Block Grants
o Senior Citizen Centers
o Temporary assistance to families in need
o Schools and education systems
o Section 8 housing
Our advice is to encourage everyone you know to respond to the Census. It is a constitutional mandate and your civic duty, and responding will help your community.
