HIAWASSEE, Ga. – Local business consultant and radio personality Patrick Malone has been selected by county and city officials to head the 2020 Complete Count Commitee of Towns and Union counties in preparation for the 2020 census, a process which will provide population data and varied statistics on area households. Malone informed citizens on July 16 that approximately 20 federal programs disperse funds based on the information gathered from cities, counties, and states. In addition, the population findings result in the amount of seats Georgia fills in the U.S. House of Representatives. The national census is required by the U.S Constitution and it is conducted every ten years, with the first census occurring in 1790.

“The job of the committee is to educate the public and to be like a trusted voice of the census, to encourage people to do it,” Malone said. “Historically, the last census, 2010, Towns County had 87 percent response. 87 percent of the households in Towns County responded to the census. In Union County, it was 86 percent. We’d like that number to be in the mid-90s. We know we can’t get everybody, but we’re going to try to raise that number into the mid-90s.”

National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, will be April 1, 2020. “Early in March, every household will get a letter, and in the letter there will be the website that you can go to (and) do it online,” Malone explained. “There will also be a paper census, in case you don’t have computer access or are not computer literate, you can fill it out on paper and mail it in, and a phone number that if you’re uncomfortable doing either of those, you can call them and give them the census information over the phone. So there are three ways to do it. We hope that will facilitate more people filling it out.”

Towns and Union counties – including the cities of Hiawassee, Young Harris, and Blairsville – will compensate Malone a total of $12,000 for his outreach efforts. Malone, along with committee members, will not participate in the operation of the census itself, however.

Malone offered to meet with businesses, churches, and civic organizations in Towns and Union counties to provide additional information on the 2020 census. Malone can be reached at 706-835-1308 or by email at [email protected]

Individuals interested in becoming a census taker can apply online at 2020census.gov/jobs

Feature Image: Patrick Malone, educating the public at the Towns County Courthouse