Collier commissioners consider ways to boost census participation

With the 2020 census looming, Collier County leaders are considering ways to encourage residents to participate in the counting effort and make sure the population is accurately represented.

Collier County commissioners on Tuesday unanimously voted to have county staff bring back research into what other Florida counties have done so the board can weigh options about how to structure a Complete Count Committee. So far at least 60 of the state’s 67 counties have created such a committee.

Data from the census is used to determine the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives, which in turn impacts a state’s electoral college votes, and provides the basis for redistricting. Census results are also used to distribute billions in federal funds annually.

“I think this is an extremely important financial decision that we’re going to make,” Commissioner Penny Taylor said during the meeting.

See the data:Explore Collier County census data with our new interactive map

According to county staff, based on 30,000 unauthorized immigrants estimated for the Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island metro area in 2016, had the census been conducted that year and those residents had chosen not to participate in the count, the potential loss to Collier in federal assistance would have been $43.35 million.

In Immokalee — one of the areas where the county would likely focus efforts to spread awareness about the census — there is some fear among undocumented immigrants that participating in the census could have negative consequences for them, said Gloria Padilla, area coordinator for Collier and Lee counties for the Redlands Christian Migrant Association, speaking only for herself and not the association.

“There is some fear that their information will be disclosed,” she said.

ICYMI:Nearly 23,000 people moved to Collier, Lee counties between 2017 and 2018, census reports

County staff noted in a memo to county commissioners that individual records from a decennial census are, by law, confidential for 72 years, and that it is a felony for any Census Bureau employee to disclose any confidential information during or after employment. 

“A respondent’s personal information is never shared with immigration enforcement agencies, law enforcement, and will not be used to determine someone’s eligibility for government benefits,” the memo states.

More:The U.S. Census Bureau is hiring in Collier and Lee counties. Here's how to apply.

Still, there is worry in the immigrant community that the information won’t be kept confidential and will negatively affect them, Padilla said. The association tries to educate residents about the importance of participating in the census to ensure more services for the community, she said.

“We try to remind them every couple of months” that there is a census coming up, Padilla said.

The Collier volunteer committee would put together outreach programs to increase awareness and response rates to the census, said John Mullins, government affairs manager for the county.

“And they typically try to target areas that traditionally have been low respondents,” he said, adding that in Collier the main targets would probably be Immokalee and Golden Gate.

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Florida had a statewide Complete Count Committee in the past three decennial censuses, Mullins said.

“They do not plan to create one for this one,” he told commissioners. “As a result, localities have stepped up.”

Two bills during the last legislative session would have created a statewide committee, but neither was taken up by the Legislature, Mullins said.

“Gov. DeSantis was quoted in June as to saying that this was the responsibility of the federal government, and the state did not plan to involve themselves at that point,” he said.

So far, about 160 local complete count committees have registered with the Census Bureau, including Naples and Marco Island, Mullins said.

County commissioners on Tuesday appeared to agree that a local committee would be important. What it would look like remains to be seen.

The Census Bureau leaves it up to the local government to structure the committee, Mullins said. “So that’s what they’re going to have to consider at the next meeting,” he said.

The committee, Commissioner Andy Solis said after the meeting, should be a “good cross-section of the whole county,” involving many different organizations.

“I think it should reflect the community ...,” he said. “Because it is an important function.”

Commissioners were also wary of having the committee turn into a partisan issue or appear to show political bias. To avoid such a bias "you try to have equal representation of the different political parties," Commissioner Burt Saunders said after the meeting.

"We don't want a committee that's going to have any political objectives," he said. "We want a committee ... whose objective it is to make sure there's an accurate count."

The next census takes place starting April 1, with state population totals and resulting congressional apportionments delivered to the president by Dec. 31, 2020.

Connect with the reporter at patrick.riley@naplesnews.com or on Twitter @PatJRiley.