Commissioner Larry Johnson ‘rounds up’ DeKalb leaders for 2020 Census Count

By Sarita Mason

For On Common Ground News

DeKalb County District 3 Commissioner Larry Johnson is preparing for a roundup meeting, July 8, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Maloof Auditorium, 1300 Commerce Drive, to get DeKalb residents ready for the 2020 census.

Johnson, who was appointed chair of DeKalb’s 2020 Complete Count Committee, is inviting community leaders and prominent groups such as the DeKalb NAACP and the Pan Asian Community to build a collective team to begin the education process on the 2020 census.

“We want people who have already impacted their communities in a significant way to join a team that will push the DeKalb 2020 census movement to where it needs to be,” said Johnson.

This year, DeKalb could receive $985 million per year for 10 years, if it reaches a 100 percent response rate on the 2020 Census.  DeKalb lost about $275 million from a 72 percent response rate in the 2010 census, county officials said.

The goal of the Complete Count Committee is to ensure that accurate census data is collected to provide information critical for federal funding, education, government programs, and policies. For the first time, residents will be able to complete the census digitally, which can help gain a full response rate.

Johnson said this is only the first step to make the DeKalb census successful.

“We plan to keep this process going and have an outstanding response rate when the census comes, said Johnson.