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With the 2020 Census coming to its deadline in September, Judge-Executive Dan Mosley continues to express the importance of an accurate count as census workers go door to door helping others complete their forms.

Mosley said locals know what needs they have throughout the county and the amount of funds allocated for those projects depend heavily on the census.

“We need better roads, more funding for hospitals and recreational opportunities for our kids,” he said. “Federal funding is tied to population. If we don’t complete our census, the federal government doesn’t know how many people live here, and we will get disqualified for certain pots of money that we may have qualified for had our population count been more accurate.”

Mosley said the county’s population was “severely undercounted” in the 2010 Census.

“Our response rate in this county is going up,” he said.  “It was 14 percent 22 weeks ago, now we’re at 42.5 percent overall. This is up .2 percent from last week, and we’ve surpassed our self-response rate from 2010 of 32.6 percent.”

The state self-response rate is 67.1 percent.

Below are self-response rates throughout Harlan County.

• Benham: 46.9 percent
• Cumberland: 43.1 percent
• Evarts: 41 percent
• Harlan: 55.6 percent
• Loyall: 40.2 percent
• Lynch: 38.2 percent

Average self-response based on magisterial district:

• District 1: 45.23 percent
• District 2: 40.65 percent
• District 3: 43.5 percent
• District 4: 44.85 percent
• District 5: 38.75 percent

“Please take just a few minutes to do this,” Mosley said. “Help a family member do theirs if you’ve already done yours. Call them and help them through the process. It’s so important that an accurate count is done and that’s where you come into play as well, just like in the fight against this coronavirus.”

Visit 2020census.gov for more information or to complete your questionnaire online. You can also call 1-844-330-2020 to complete your form over the phone.

“If our office can assist you in doing yours, call and speak with Genese Brewer at 606-573-2600,” Mosley said. “If you call into our office and complete your census, we can mail you a Harlan County Counts and So Do I T-shirt.”