Explanation
BACKGROUND: This legislation authorizes the Finance and Management Director to enter into contract with The Saunders Company, LLC for community outreach and marketing services related to the 2020 Census. The 2020 Census Day is April 1, 2020 and the Census Bureau will count residents through the summer of 2020 until a complete count is achieved. The decennial census is required by the U.S. Constitution and states, cities, and local organizations partner with the federal government for the census. In March of 2019 Mayor Andrew J. Ginther and Franklin County Commissioner Kevin Boyce launched the joint Columbus/Franklin County 2020 Census Complete Count Committee or “Columbus Counts” to ensure a complete count. Columbus Counts is a coalition made up of local governments, non-profits, private business, and community leaders working to increase 2020 Census awareness across the community and ensure everyone is counted in Franklin County.
According to prior census data, 24% of Franklin County’s residents or approximately 300,842 people are “hard-to-count” (HTC). HTC communities require more costly in-person counting by the Census Bureau and are more likely to not be counted. Example HTC communities include: racial and ethnic minorities; immigrants and New Americans; individuals with limited access to internet; older adults, and young children (ages 0-5). A complete count of all the city’s residents is critically important because the federal government allocates millions of dollars annually to the city, its residents, and partner organizations based on census data. U.S. House of Representatives seat apportionment is also based on census results. Finally, funding Medicaid, Medicare, WIC, SNAP, school lunches, and many more federal programs that Columbus residents benefit from is determined by the census count. As such, The Saunders Company, LLC will develop a culturally-informed digital, print, and radio media advertising campaign that promotes awareness of ...
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