Fairfield County residents have the chance of helping the county receive $19.2 million of federal funding by simply taking the time to answer 10 short questions and mailing the information back in a postage-paid envelope.

How is this possible?

It’s simple.

By completing the 2010 Census form that will be mailed to every resident in the country in March, the number of residents living in the county will be counted and the information will be used to determine how federal funding should be spent on services like hospitals, job training centers, schools, senior centers, emergency services and bridges, tunnels and other public works projects.

It is estimated that each person counted is equal to approximately $800.

“There’s approximately 24,000 people in Fairfield County. So when you multiply that by $800 each, Fairfield County is eligible for $19,200,000,” Fairfield County Grant Coordinator Steven Gaither told the Fairfield County Complete Count Committee. The committee met Tuesday to discuss the upcoming Census.

That’s why it’s important for all residents, both citizens and non citizens to fill out the form, he added.

The form will ask for residents’ name, address, social security number and telephone number. All of the information will be protected under the Privacy Act and Title 13 US Code, which protects information and makes it against the law to disclose or publish. Census workers found guilty of unlawfully disclosing information could be fined up to $250,000 or imprisoned for up to five years, or both.

According to Gaither, the forms should be mailed back by April. If not received by mid-April, residents may receive a visit from a Census worker, who will complete the form at that time.

“People won’t be coming to you door until April 19, because the information should have been sent back by then,” he said.

Anyone visiting before then may be an impostor.

There will be about 1,600 Census workers hired to work in the Rock Hill area – that includes Fairfield County – for six to eight weeks to help with collecting information.

In addition to temporary help being hired to help spread the word about the 2010 Census, the Complete Count Committee is also helping educate the community by hosting a Town Hall meeting, placing yard signs throughout the county and having Public Service Announcements (PSAs) aired on various radio stations. Local utility companies have also agreed to place reminders on the lower portion of their customers bills.

The completed Census questionnaire should include information on everyone who resides in the household, regardless of age.

Gaither said the best way to know who to include on the form is to ask “where do they lay their head down” to sleep at night. That location is where they should be counted, he explained.

To learn more about Fairfield County Census contact Steven Gaither at 635-1415, ext. 1042.

Upcoming Census Events

Jan. 17

National Road Tour at 1 p.m. at Brookland Baptist Church in West Columbia.

Sponsored by the US Census Bureau

Jan. 23

Town Hall meeting at 10 a.m. at Fairfield County Administration building

Sponsored by Fairfield County Complete Count Committee