The Census Bureau’s door-to-door efforts in Pickens and the 15 other counties in the north Georgia region are chugging along on schedule, with officials saying workers are now three-quarters complete.
Local Census Officer Manager Carol Zaremba out of Gainesville said the 16 northeast Georgia counties she represents are nearing completion, with plans to wrap up in the next two to three weeks.
Zaremba said Pickens-specific figures are not available, but she reported that approximately 1,000 Census workers are blanketing the north Georgia region. These workers, she said, live in the communities in which they work.
“They all work locally,” Zaremba said. “We feel that people need to work in the area where they live because they know the environment and they know the people.”
Workers in the north Georgia Region make $11.75 per hour. The nationwide deadline for census enumerators is July 10.
Zaremba said enumerators will physically go to a home up to three times and will also leave a notice of their visit on the door. Residents can then call the number on the notice and schedule a visit.
If residents’ telephone number can be obtained enumerators will call up to three times, Zaremba said.
Census workers interview residents, filling out the 10-question forms themselves, but the bureau still has a quality check in place.
If forms are found to be incomplete upon being returned enumerators may have to return to the residence. Returns for quality control occur approximately five percent of the time.
Of the more than 600,000 Census workers hitting the streets nationwide on May 1, seven have been killed in auto accidents and more than 100 have been assaulted, according to Census Bureau Director Robert M. Groves.
Zaremba, however, said incidents in the north Georgia region have been tame in comparison.
“Our results overall have been positive,” she said. “We’ve had some minor issues, and dog bites are something that’s just going to happen.”
Zaremba did say there were some residents who have refused to respond to the Census, but that there was no overarching reason for the resistance.
Zaremba also said Big Canoe was made a priority in the door-to-door Census after thousands of homes in the gated community did not receive a paper copy of the Census form by mail.
Census forms were addressed incorrectly and could not be delivered.
“The post office returned all the forms so we were sure to focus on them,” Zaremba said. “We have been working closely with the community.”
Zaremba encouraged residents who are approached by a Census worker to cooperate to ensure adequate government funding is received. “It is so important that every resident be counted,” Zaremba said. “It is crucial for federal funding for your area.” |
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