Census officials prod tardy citizens

Noaki Schwartz

COSTA MESA -- With the deadline extended to Monday, census workers are

trying to get the remaining one-third of the city’s residents to fill out

and return their Census 2000 forms.

The last-minute push to promote the questionnaire is an effort to get

more federal funding for the community.

About 66% of the city’s residents have already responded -- a success

compared to prior years.

“It’s above the figure it was 10 years ago,” said Lance Ungerman, the

Costa Mesa census coordinator, adding that the Latino community had a

stronger showing than in past years.

Ungerman is hoping that because the deadline was pushed back from April 1

to Monday, even more residents will respond.

The increased effort is intended to ensure there is no repeat of 1990,

when an undercount cost California more than $2 billion in federal funds

over the decade.

Communities across Southern California have tried storefront posters in

various languages, school rallies and even special events with

promotional products at local shops.

Even so, Ray Lopez of the Census Center in Garden Grove said it will take

some time before households reach the 1970 return figures, which were

85%.

“[Some] have indicated that a lot of the questions are intrusive,” Lopez

said.

One question asks what time respondents go to work in the morning. The

reason behind the rather personal inquiry, Lopez pointed out, is to find

out when traffic is heaviest to get money for more traffic lights.

“We’re spreading the word and letting people know what it’s about,”

Ungerman said.

The next step is to find out who didn’t turn their forms in and start

going door to door. Census bureaus are now hiring and training people to

begin the process on May 1, Lopez said.

“We’re hoping that everything will turn out very well,” Lopez said.

“We’re trying to get ourselves organized.”