By JOHN T. WARD
A quiet final session of 2019 for the Red Bank council included the creation of a Census committee Wednesday night.
The 2020 Complete Count Committee‘s aim is to maximize resident participation in the federal government’s decennial Census and American Community Survey, said Human Relations Advisory Committee Chairman David Pascale, who will lead the effort.
As it did in 2010, HRAC plans to hold events to encourage “the hard-to-reach community, which for us is mostly our Latino community,” to participate in the Census, Pascale told the council.
At stake is the distribution of $670 billion in federal funding, said Pascale.
“It’s also about representation,” as Census results may alter the number of Congressional seats within the state, as well as legislative-district boundaries, he noted.
“It’s important that people know that their privacy is protected and their information is protected by the Census Bureau,” said Pascale.
For the first time, Census questionnaires will be available online, and part-time Census jobs are available, he said.
The committee’s first appointees are:
Red Bank schools Superintendent Jared Rumage
Library Director Eleni Glykis
Lunch Break Executive Director Gwendolyn Love
Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation Executive Director Pastor Terrence Porter
JBJ Soul Foundation outreach coordinator Marylou Caputo
HABCore Executive Director Steve Heisman
The YMCA of Greater Monmouth County and the League of Women Voters will also participate, said Pascale.
Fred Stone, president of the borough school board, presented the council with a copy of a resolution the board adopted Tuesday night in favor of the commission’s formation.
