Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-21-00 Regular Meeting of La Porte Complete Count Committee• City of La Porte Census 2000 Complete Count Committee Meeting Minutes of March 21, 2000 Members Present: Jeannie Zemanek, Joeena Davis, Colleen Hicks, and Lorraine Jeffery. Members Absent: Beth Rickert, Marlin Fenn, Tom Rawls, Kathy Alberts, Ada Bowen, Wayne Speazs, Susan Pazastaz, Steve Jacks, Randy Gilchrist, Tim O'Connor, Vicky Abshire, Mazk Snider, Linda Barley, and Debra Kurz. Others Present: Dionne Roberts, Census Bureau City Staff Present: Mayor Norman Malone, City Secretary Martha Gillett and Planning Coordinator Masood Malik. I. CALL TO ORDER Committee Chairman Jeannie Zemanek called the meeting to order at 5:50 P.M. II. CONSIDER APPROVING MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING ON FEBRUARY 15, 2000. Motion was made by Joeena Davis to accept the minutes as presented. A second by Colleen Hicks. The motion carved unanimously. III. REVIEW AND IMPLEMENT ACTIVITIES LEADING TO CENSUS DAY - APRIL 1, 2000. Dionne Roberts with the census bureau noted those who do not receive a census form may get one from the "Be Counted Center". She also noted they are still recruiting remunerators. They will work April 14 - 15 until the community is counted. If people leave blanks on the census form an employee from the census bureau will visit their home to assist in completing the form. Activities - Masood Malik reported that he and Martha Gillett attended the School Board Meeting. Mazch 9, 2000 was the Education Foundation Celebration for the school and Mr. Malik set up a table to publicize the Census. Mayor Malone, Janis Goulder, Colleen Hicks, and Vickie Abshire assisted with handing out census information and promotional items. Census magnets were mailed out in all City of La Porte water bills to serve as a reminder of Census 2000. Questionnaire Centers are located at the LaPorte Library on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:00 to 4:30PM and at the City Hall, Friday from 12:00 to 4:30 PM. Bayshore Sun has been running ads twice a week to remind everyone about the importance of completing the census form and getting it mailed back in a timely manner. • • Census Minutes - Mazch 21, 2000 -Page 2 The Chamber of Commerce had a table with census information set up at their monthly lunch meeting. Mr. Malik assisted people with filling out forms in the Lomax and Northside areas. Joeena Davis stated that she had received correspondence from other corporations stating that they had sent notices to their employees reminding them of the census. Ms. Davis also stated Du Pont had sent out reminders to their employees. IV. FINALIZE PLANS FOR ALL ACTIVITIES PLANNED FOR THE END OF MARCH AND THE MONTH OF APRIL In Kind Funding -The committee discussed how to distribute necklaces, frisbees, pens & pencils (500 each). It was decided they would bedistributed asfollows: -Schools -Bayshore and La Porte Elementary, and Baker 6~' Grade Campus- pencils. Also put displays at the Neighborhood Center, Health & Human Services, Harris County Health Department, Jenny Riley, and the Library. Ms. Zemanek will call the schools for permission to put up the census display. The Census Bureau furnished a short video for the schools. The tapes will sent over to Ms. Rickert. The committee will meet again in Apri12000. V. PREPARE TO IMPLEMENT CENSUS DAY ACTIVITIES On Saturday, April 1, 2000, Census Day The Bayshore Sun will run an advertisement. There will be a marquis at the school and by city hall to remind everyone, and the fitness center will have a table set up with all the left over items. VI. DISCUSSION/INFORMATION Ms. Hicks will take bags to the Neighbor Center. VII. ADJOURN There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:30 PM. Respectfully submitted, -1YIa,~M ~ueur Martha Gillett City Secretary Approved on Apri125, 2000 • • MEETING NOTICE CENSUS 2000 COMPLETE COUNT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE: MARCH 21, 2000 TIME: 5:30 p.m. ****PLEASE NOTE TIME **** PLACE: CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS 604 WEST FAIRMONT PARKWAY LA PORTE, TEXAS 77571 RSVP: CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE - 281-471-5020 EXT. 233 FRIED CHICKEN, COLE SLAW, CHIPS, SOFT DRINKS, AND COOKIES WILL BE PROVIDED. PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU WILL BE ATTENDING SO WE WILL HAVE ENOUGH FOOD. TALKING POINTS BECAUSE YOU COUNT Introduction-Census 2000 _ Census 2000 allows all of us to demonstrate pride in our community, in our culture and in our contributions to this society. _ It provides us with an exciting opportunity to get involved in an important community and national event. Full Participation _ The census should be a 100 percent accounting of everybody who lives in the United States, including Puerto Rico and the island areas. _ Participation has fallen nationally for the past three census counts. _ So far in Census 2000 only _ percent of the people in our [use one of the following words: reservation/community/area/state] have mailed back their census forms. _ It's very important that we cooperate with the census takers who are currently visiting our neighborhoods in [state/city/locality/reservation] to count those who did not mail back their census forms. Cornerstone of Our Nation's Knowledge _ Participating in the census is an important civic responsibility... and it is critical to the well being of our community and to each of us individually. _ Census numbers help determine how communities throughout the United States get their fair share of more than $185 billion in federal funds annually. _ The numbers help determine how many seats in the U.S. House of Representatives go to each state. ~ States and localities use the count to define local voting districts. _ Census numbers also help various groups within our society receive adequate attention from federal, state and local government programs. How America Knows What America Needs _ We can make a difference in the census results for our community. _ We can do that by welcoming the census takers who are visiting households that did not return their forms. _ This effort is supported by a national campaign initiated by the U.S. Census Bureau called How America Knows What America Needs. _ The campaign assists elected leaders from across the country and more than 50,000 community, corporate and congressional partners, including [mention any local participants] to bolster civic participation in Census 2000 by providing program support. _ The follow-up aspect of How America Knows What America Needs -when census takers make their appearance - is supported by a component of the campaign known as Because You Count. Because You Count Component _ Because You Count provides -the tools to encourage the public to cooperate with local census takers who visit our households. _ Because You Count reminds us that census takers are members of our community. ~ They are hired, in part, because they know our streets and our neighborhoods. ~ They speak our language and are familiar with our culture. Confidentiality _ Census takers are easily recognizable by the identification badges they wear and have undergone security screenings. Zj Census workers must obey the law (Title 13 U.S. Code) mandating that no one outside the U.S. Census Bureau can be given personal information. Individual responses cannot be shared with other agencies or organizations at the federal, state or local levels and are held co~dential for 72 years. ~ Furthermore, every Census employee must swear an oath to keep information confidential and to protect the privacy of the data collected. ~f Employees face harsh penalties for breaking their oath or the law. Foreign Language Assistance _ Throughout the Census 2000 process, the U.S. Census Bureau is making every effort to ensure that we all have an opportunity to participate. Zj A big part of this has been helping non-English speaking residents in a number of ways, including having census takers carry materials to assist them in various languages. _ Census 2000 Language Assistance Guides are also available in 491anguages. _ The U. S. Census Bureau has developed partnerships with [name pertinent advocacy and support groups], and these partners can provide non-English speaking residents with assistance during the nonresponse follow-up period. Mobilizing Support _ All of us can make a difference during the Because You Count period of Census 2000. _ We can mobilize support for the anticipated visits by census takers by talking about the importance of being counted in church, at PTA meetings, [name of local school] sporting events and the [name of upcoming convention or town attraction]. _ Those who belong to civic clubs, community groups or other organizations such as [name a few] can ensure that Census 2000 and the importance of welcoming census takers are mentioned in internal communications like newsletters and staff memos. Zf Officers of these or other organizations can use their positions to write letters to the editor of [name of local paper(s)] or discuss Because You Count in staff meetings. Conclusion _ By making a second effort to complete census forms, and by cooperating with those who are helping us to make this second effort, we are displaying our civic pride. _ The How America Knows What America Needs campaign, along with Because You Count, can bring Census 2000 closer to what it should be - a civic event that promotes full participation. _ This can be a rallying point for our community. We must always keep in mind that this is our future. We can't leave it blank.