Nevadans urged to stand up and be counted

Sandra Chereb

Monday, Nov. 1, 1999 | 3:30 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - The fastest growing state in the nation will be seriously shortchanged when it comes to federal funding if Nevada doesn't improve its participation rate in the upcoming 2000 Census, officials said.

Secretary of State Dean Heller joined U.S. Census Bureau officials at a news conference Monday, initiating what is planned as a months-long campaign to get Nevadans to participate in the national head count conducted every 10 years.

"We're trying to build a buzz in the communities about just how much is at stake," said David A. Byerman, Census Bureau liaison for Nevada. "No state in the nation has more to gain than Nevada."

About 29,000 Nevadans fell through the cracks when the last Census was taken in 1990, Heller said. That cost the state about $20 million a year, or $200 million over the last decade.

"It's for their benefit" that everyone be counted, Heller said.

Population tallies are used to divvy up federal dollars that flow to state and local governments for such things as transportation, welfare and Medicaid and Medicare programs.

They are also used to adjust the number of U.S. House seats for each state and redraw voting districts at the state and local level.

Analysts calculate Nevada is in line for a third House seat based on projected population estimates.

Census data also plays a crucial role in economic development, Heller added, noting that many companies analyze population statistics when considering places to relocate or expand.

In the 1990 Census, only 53 percent of Nevada households returned Census questionnaires - the sixth worse ranking the nation, Heller said. The national average was 85 percent.

Given Nevada's explosive growth over the past decade and its continued ranking as the fastest growing state in the nation, an underreporting this time could cost the state even more in precious funding, Heller said.

Ten years ago, Nevada's population was estimated at 1.2 million. Since then, it has grown by about 45 percent, to 1.7 million.

The Census Bureau will begin mailing questionnaires to every household in the country starting in April. Temporary workers will be hired to go to residences that fail to respond by mail to try to get an accurate accounting of every man, woman and child in the United States.

Heller and Byerman stressed that personal information provided to the Census Bureau is kept confidential for 72 years and under law cannot be shared with any other state or federal agency.