By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Ryan Hvitlok with the City of Hutchinson's Complete Count Committee says the Census is almost wrapped up in Hutchinson.
"The self-response rate, that is the folks who have sent in their survey, without having to have an enumerator knock on their door, in Kansas is at 68.8%," Hvitlok said. "We're a little bit higher in Reno County. We're at 69.7% and in Hutchinson, we're at about 68.8%. The good news is, though, that the state as a whole, as we do have Census enumerators that are out and about in the community, the state as a whole is at 92.7% counted."
The count closes September 30.
"It's used to determine your federal, your state and your local voting districts," Hvitlok said. "Our local government here we use it for infrastructure and transportation planning, emergency preparedness, disaster relief, education funding, health tracking and disease control and many, many other things. Really, it's vital. This is a once every ten years process, so it's crucial that we get the count right."
Undercounting could cost a lot of money.
"It's just under $49,000 per household over the next 10 years," Hvitlok said. "Really, if we're looking at the state as a whole, even if Kansas is undercounted by 1%, that's not very many, the state of Kansas could miss out on recieving over $603,000,000 of federal funding over the next 10 years."
Local people have been out in Kansas as census enumerators since early this summer.