Being a basic tightwad, leaving any amount of money on the table drives me nuts.
Leaving $211,788,000 on the table falls into the “insane” category.
The percentage of Independence Township folks who have been counted as of April 19, 2020 in the 2020 Census is 68.2 percent. Using 37,000 as a conservative township total, 68.2 percent means only 25,234 of our township residents have been counted.
The inverse, of course, means that 11,766 have not yet been counted.
Over the next 10 years, every head counted in the 2020 Census generates $18,000 in federal funding for state and local programs such as school lunches, educational services, roads and more.
With 11,766 folks still to be counted, and not being a math wizard by any stretch of the imagination, I had to reach for the calculator.
We’re leaving $211,788,000 on the table over the next 10 years. That’s over $21 million a year in federal money that will probably be allocated to another state that we will never see again.
And remember, this is just for Independence Township.
I don’t know about you, but $211,788,000 is a ton of money that could be put to good use.
Please encourage everyone you know to complete the 2020 Census.
Completing the 2020 Census will only take 10 minutes. Please visit WWW.MY2020CENSUS.GOV for more details and complete instructions on how to start.
Why should you care about the Census? Because at the end of the day, it’s $211 million that will not be available for services that will benefit us and neighboring communities.

— Independence Township Supervisor Pat Kittle