The U.S. Census bureau already has opened a new Dearborn office in the Westborn Mall as it prepares for the 2010 Census and now the cities of Dearborn and Dearborn Heights are doing their part to make sure all residents are counted.

Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr. and Dearborn Heights Mayor Dan Paletko have invited leaders from neighborhood associations, service clubs, faith-based organizations and educational institutions to a special presentation Wednesday evening to hear a presentation from the local office of the U.S. Census Bureau about how to help ensure all residents are counted during the 2010 Census.

The census – a once-in-a-decade event – has a big impact on funding for cities across America, which is why there is such urgency around it here in Dearborn and our state of Michigan.  The number of people we have in Michigan will determine how many representatives we have in the U.S. House. The U.S. government also will use the results from the census  to determine how to divvy up some $400 billion in annual federal spending for such things as education, transportation, human services, and medical programs.

In addition to O’Reilly, Paletko and the representative from the local Census office, Hassan Jaber, executive director of the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS), also will address those who attend.

Dearborn and Dearborn Heights officials want to be sure senior citizens, particularly “snow birds” and the Arab-American community are counted in the upcoming Census.

U.S. government officials on Monday officially kicked off a $130 million campaign to encourage public awareness of Census 2010. The event kicked off in Times Square in New York.  As the campaign gathers speed, it will be hard to miss: Vehicles promoting the census will crisscross the United States, and ads for the census will run in nearly every form of communication. So get ready.

For those wondering how the last census went in 2000, the U.S. government says just 67 percent answered the survey. In general, those who don’t answer the survey usually do so because they are afraid the information might be used by the government to track them down or might be used for some other bureaucratic use. Government officials say Census information is not shared with law-enforcement agencies or other government agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service. It is all confidential. This likely will be a message stressed at Wednesday’s meeting in Dearborn, too.

Those attending the Dearborn event also will receive information about how to apply for a Census job. The positions, while temporary, are expected to be good paying. In New York, for example, the Census Bureau is paying up to $20 per hour to those hired.

Here are the details for those interested in attending this Wednesday:

WHEN: 7:30 -8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010

WHERE:Dearborn City Council Chambers, inside City Hall, 13615 Michigan Ave.

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