LETTER from HUDI PODOLSKY

Shortening Census Deadline

Adds Urgency: Fill Yours Out!

To the Editor:

Counting everyone in the country for the Census is an enormous job, and we need everyone’s help right now.

The work is done by the professionals of the Census Bureau and by thousands of temporary workers they hire and train. Their work is supported by a vast army of local volunteer groups, Complete Count Committees.

These local groups are your neighbors.  We know how important an accurate count is for the financial and political future of our towns, our counties and our state, and we work to ensure that our neighbors have the encouragement and support they need to participate in the Census.

Like the professionals and temporary Census workers, we were forced to change all our plans in light of the pandemic. We developed new plans based on an Oct. 31 completion date; it was changed to Sept. 30.

If you have worked on a big project, you know that shortening the deadline by a month just months before the end makes it very unlikely that the project will be completed successfully.  Our plans had to be altered for everyone’s safety in the pandemic, but this latest change is not necessary and undermines all our efforts to ensure that everyone is counted.

Our towns will be impacted for a decade by the undercount that is sure to result from this needless change.

A child entering kindergarten who is not counted this year will be denied resources until he or she is 15 years old.  Congress can solve this problem.  Please, contact your elected officials.  Tell them we need every day until Oct. 31 to ensure everyone is counted.

And please – complete your Census and encourage everyone you know to do the same.

HUDI PODOLSKY

Chair

Complete Count Committee

Town of Hartwick