To review the Mayor’s State of the City speech, please click HERE

To review the Mayor’s State of the City speech in Spanish, please click HERE

East Ridge is partnering with the U.S. Census Bureau to help achieve a complete and accurate count of our population as part of the 2010 Census. Conducted every 10 years, the census defines who we are as a nation but also as a community. It guides critical decisions on the national, state and local levels of government and provides insight into population, state and local government funding.

Census data affect us all, which means achieving a complete and accurate count is essential. Every year, the federal government distributes more than $400 billion to state, local and tribal governments based on census data. This data also helps determine congressional representation and guides local decision-makers on where to build new roads, hospitals, child-care and senior centers, schools and more. A full and complete count of all citizens is vital for the financial and economic well-being of East Ridge.

This March, I’ll continue to share information with you about upcoming census events, including those hosted in East Ridge. I’ll also share information about key dates for the 2010 Census, including:

·March 2010: 2010 Census forms mailed to homes

·March – July 2010: Complete Count Committee activities take place.

·April 1, 2010: Official Census Day-Responses to the census form should include everyone living at your address.

·May – July 2010: Census workers visit households that did not mail back forms to take a count in person.

·Dec. 31, 2010: Census Bureau presents the 2010 apportionment counts to the President of the United States.

I can’t thank the East Ridge 2010 Census Complete Count Committee for their committed efforts towards informing the community about the census. The Committee has been hard at work implementing a communications plan they developed last year. They’ve been working diligently for many months on implementation of several strategies to spread the word about the importance of filling out this year’s Census. The committee is made up of citizens, city staff and Waterhouse Public Relations staff.

With the assistance from the Committee, you can be sure that when the census arrives in your mailbox this March East Ridge will be fully saturated with information and messaging. Already the East Ridge Count Committee has spread the Census message by placing flyers and signage in highly visible areas, placing informative Census articles in the Hometown News distributed to all citizens of East Ridge, emphasizing the importance of filling out the Census in the City’s electronic newsletter, incorporating Census messaging into Chamber breakfasts, working with community organizations to spread the word and scheduling speaking engagements with local churches and civic groups.

Lastly, the Census is completely confidential and your participation makes a difference. The 2010 census is only 10 questions and takes about 10 minutes to complete. Ten minutes determines your country’s future, your community’s future and your future.
If you have any questions at all about the Census, please don’t hesitate to contact City Hall at 867-7711.