Census Bureau to Open Mesa Office

New census office opening in Mesa, bringing hundreds of jobs

Mesa, AZ – The U.S. Census Bureau has announced that it will be opening a new area office in Mesa on Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 1102 N. Higley, Suite 101. A “Spirit of Community Celebration” grand opening ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. with remarks from Mesa Mayor Scott Smith and others.

“The new office will help emphasize the key messages that the 2010 Census is easy, it’s safe, and it’s important!” Mesa Mayor Scott Smith said. “Counting every Mesa resident is important because the information determines the dollars Mesa gets back from the state and federal governments. Mesa’s Complete Count Committee, along with this office, will work hard to make sure that everyone is counted.”

The new office will be one of only five in the Valley and will serve as the primary field office for a region which encompasses Mesa and parts of Pinal County including the Gila River Indian Community. The office will house the recruiting and support staff for more than 1,000 door-to-door census takers who will canvas assigned locations, update address listings and obtain demographic household information through interviews.

For more information about jobs, log onto http://www.mesaaz.gov and click on “Census 2010 – It’s In YOUR Hands” under the “highlights” section of the home page, or log onto http://www.2010censusjobs.gov.

In the 2000 Census, Mesa achieved only a 59 percent return rate, while Arizona was 63 percent and the U.S. average was 67 percent. For every unaccounted resident, Mesa loses $1,500 to $2,000 per year in government funded services and benefits. Over 10 years that is billions of dollars in education, transportation, health and other basic human assistance. The Complete Count Committee, which is comprised of community leaders who will educate residents and promote the census through targeted outreach, has set a goal of 68 percent return for Mesa in 2010.

The Constitution mandates that the United States counts its entire population every 10 years. Census questionnaires will be mailed to every household in the U.S. in March, 2010. On April 1, 2010 the U.S. Census Bureau will conduct this decennial count. The Census Bureau must count everyone and submit state population totals to the U.S. President by December 31, 2010. The 2010 Census will be a short-form only census and will count all residents living in the United States as well as ask for name, gender, age, date of birth, race, ethnicity, relationship and housing tenure, taking only a few minutes to complete.

Source: City of Mesa

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