With just six weeks to go before the end of the 2020 Census, the Southampton Town Board would like to remind our residents how important it is to be counted. Each year more than $73 billion is distributed throughout NY State based upon Census data. The money that is provided by the Census goes directly towards essential programs that impact our daily lives such as health insurance, infrastructure, hospitals and education.
As of August 13, 2020 only 37.1% of households in the Town of Southampton have completed the Census. That is far behind the County rate of 63.3%. Some response rates in the Town are even lower; Westhampton Beach is at 24-25% and Southampton Village has an 18-23% response rate. Click on this link to see the map. : https://bit.ly/33Yq7Qt
“It is critical that we get these numbers up,” said Town Councilman Tommy John Schiavoni. “As a former High School Social Studies teacher, I know how important it is to make every person count. If we are not counted accurately, we could lose critical representation in our House of Representatives, in our State Legislature and it could even effect government funding. We know the pandemic has been hard on all of us, but taking the Census in the privacy of your own home takes just ten minutes! Please do it today.”
Now more than ever due to COVID-19, we can’t be undercounted. To complete the Census online, please visit www.my2020census.gov , or to complete it by phone please call 844-330-2020 for English or 844-468-2020 for Spanish. Phone lines are available in 12 additional languages, listed at https://2020census.gov/en/ways-to-respond/responding-by-phone.html
Census workers will begin going door to door next week for those who have not responded. The deadline for the Census is September 30, 2020.
