County honored for census work

The Franklin County Commission’s hard work to make sure the recent census count for Franklin County was as accurate as possible recently paid off by being awarded one of three statewide awards presented by the Association of County Commissions of Alabama.

The Franklin County Commission received the 20th Annual Award for Excellence in County Government in the Rural Category, which recognizes innovative and effective programs initiated or completed between July 1, 2010, and June 30, 2011, in counties with a population of less than 50,000.

Franklin County won the award based on their entry titled “Franklin County 2010 Census Partnership.” Judges used a numerical scoring system emphasizing each program’s stated objective, the involvement of the county commission in the program’s implementation, the benefit of the program to the taxpayer, and the program’s overall quality.

The Franklin County 2010 Census Partnership showed a detailed plan for county officials to make sure as many people were accounted for as possible in order to maintain funding for different agencies and organizations.

For example, Franklin County’s Census 2000 population was 31,223. Based on this number and the equations used by the state, the county’s total gasoline tax revenue for fiscal year 2010-2011 was approximately $1,840,000, which includes seven cent, four cent, five cent, two cent and motor vehicle license taxes.

With the gasoline tax formula being so heavily weighted around population, it was critical to get as many people counted as possible to maintain the current funding level at the Franklin County Highway Department.

Other programs in the county that are dependent on population counts for funding include food grants; the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program; elderly programs; emergency food and shelter; Head Start; school lunch programs; and sewer and water projects.

“Our overall objective was to get as many people as possible counted to insure that we take full advantage of the opportunities that the census offers,” Franklin County Probate Judge Barry Moore said. “We knew we only get this chance once every 10 years and then we have to live with the outcome.”

The commission’s census plan also focused heavily on an aggressive marketing campaign to make sure every effort was made to reach out to the large Hispanic community and educate them on the importance of their participation in the project.

“The Hispanic community has become a vital part of our county in terms of workforce and economic impact,” Moore said. “It was our belief that we could realize significant population gains in that community, which is important because some grants can be affected substantially by demographic data. Our local match for these type grants may be reduced significantly based on the latest census results.”

The commission used several different methods to obtain as accurate a count as possible, some which were specific to the Hispanic community.

“Together with Hispanic community leaders, we set up fiestas at different times at school cafeterias and in downtown Russellville where we provided food and entertainment free of charge,” Moore said. “Census workers were present at these meetings where they helped people fill out the forms and over one thousand Hispanic residents attended the fiestas. It brought many people together that otherwise would not have the opportunity.”

Having cooperation from all the county and city schools and churches as well as providing safe areas for community members to meet to fill out forms was vital to the process.

“All of our school representatives, especially the principals and teachers, were more than willing to do their part,” Moore said. “They agreed to include a unit and short assignment on the census as part of their curriculum. The assignment allowed students to get extra credit, or a treat in the younger grades, for helping their parents fill out the census forms.”

The commission also utilized the highly specialized GIS technology to locate residents who might have been missed in the 2000 census.

“The State of Alabama experienced a 7.48 percent overall increase in population and Franklin County had a 1.5 percent increase,” Moore said. “When considering total funding, the Franklin County Census 2010 Partnership will save taxpayers millions of dollars over the next ten years. Census experts estimate that every person not counted in 2010 costs the local government for the city or county $1,000 per year. Doing the math, Franklin County’s gain of 1,146 people comes to $11,460,000 in state and federal funds alone over the next 10 years.”