The U.S. Census Bureau has sent a letter to Village Administrator Robert L. Schoelle, Jr., informing the Village that it is looking for people looking for temporary employment as office workers and census takers. Recently, the United States Department of Commerce Bureau of the Census' Local Census Office (at 107 Charles Lindberg Boulevard) hosted a seminar for the public about the upcoming census. According to the Bureau, "Census 2000 will be the largest peacetime effort in the history of the United States."

According to the letter sent to the Village, "Jobs will last from 2 ­ 12 weeks beginning in March 2000. Census takers may work afternoons, evenings, and weekends. Pay ranges from $11.25 an hour for full time office jobs to $14 an hour and higher for census takers, who work in local neighborhoods." Anyone interested in working for Census 2000: must be 18 years of age or older; cannot be employed as a tax collector; assessor or law enforcement official; must pass a written test of basic skills; and males born after Dec. 31, 1959 must be registered with the Selective Service.

Census takers are not eligible for coverage under Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, Federal Employees Group Life Insurance Program, and the Federal Employees Retirement System. Day care is not provided. Leave is not earned.

According to the Census Bureau, "About a week before Census Day ­ April 1, 2000 ­ most households will receive a questionnaire by mail. Census takers will deliver forms to the remaining households." Also, "The Census 2000 questionnaire that most people will get will ask about only seven subjects: name, sex, age, relationship, Hispanic origin, race, and housing tenure (whether home is owned or rented). Nationwide, five out of six housing units will receive this short form. It will be the shortest short form in 180 years,"

The long form will ask additional questions on topics such as education, ancestry, employment, disability, and house heating fuel. There are about 27 additional subjects on the long form. Census 2000 reports, "In some rural areas, as many as every other housing unit will receive a long form ­ because a larger sample is needed to ensure that these towns and counties get the same detailed information as more densely populated areas."

The Bureau argues, "This is your future. Don't leave it blank." Its contention is that "decision-makers understand" which services, grants, and funding programs are needed where based upon information gathered in the census. Also, the number of seats a state will have is based upon census information about population, so too is this information used for the state legislatures.

The census is conducted every ten years. Census 2000 will have to work to reach an estimated population of 275 million U.S. residents living in approximately 118 million housing units in the U.S., as well as 1.5 million housing units in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Islands. Census takers will have to interview people on the road at campgrounds, resorts, and marinas. Homeless people, migrant and seasonal farm workers will be included through special links to local experts. "In remote Alaska, for example, the census must be completed before the spring thaw" before people leave to go hunting, according to the Bureau.

People living on military installations and military ships will also be included through help from the Department of Defense and U.S. Coast Guard. Working with the U.S. Maritime Administration and others, census takers will be able to reach those on ocean going, coastal and Great Lake ships, including factory trawlers, floating processors, fishing boats, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration vessels and Military Sea Lift Command vessels. Those working overseas for the government will also be contacted. Residents of nursing homes and college dorms will be included as well.

Answers to census questions are also confidential. In 1950, during White House renovations, the Secret Service requested census information about individuals in a particular area where they had planned to temporarily locate President Truman. Census coordinator Ed Goldfield refused to provide the information. In 1961 Congress amended the law so that even copies of census information in an individual's possession cannot be used as evidence against that individual in a court of law.

In 1980 four FBI agents stormed into the Colorado Springs office with a search warrant demanding to see census documents. A census worker kept them from retrieving the information until her superiors could come and resolve the issue. Title 13 of the U.S. Code dictates that the Census Bureau cannot share answers with the IRS, FBI, Welfare, Immigration or any other government agency. Combined answers are used only to provide general information about the population.

Any census worker who shares private census information could face a $5,000 fine and a 5-year prison term. Census workers must pass security and employment reference checks. Also addresses cannot be given or sold to anyone wishing demographic information for mailings.

Census 2000 was discussed in an article by David Hess and Robert A. Rankin, which appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer. The article discussed the issue of spending caps in the Senate and the seemingly inevitable maneuvering that will occur to spend beyond the caps. With a farm-aid bill costing $7.4 billion, costs for Kosovo and Turkish earthquake victims, defense and education spending increases, and the major undertaking of Census 2000, there is little chance for keeping the caps, according to information gathered by Hess and Rankin.

Hess and Rankin surmise that with these costs, Sen. Arlen Spector and the GOP majority are proposing that the government borrow against a projected $38 billion surplus for fiscal 2001. This would tap the Social Security Trust Fund for the future and conflict with President Clinton's plans to maintain Social Security for America's senior citizens.

The Census Bureau says it is working to devise a census system this time that addresses one of the biggest concerns about Census 1990 ­ that it was too costly. As this census plans to address the issue of reaching more citizens, though, and provide competitive salaries for its temporary staff, the project seems to be a tremendous expense. The Census Bureau argued, "From apportioning the U.S. House of Representatives to providing data used by communities, businesses and Americans everywhere, the decennial census is the cornerstone of our knowledge about our nation."

For more information about the census or to register for testing for census jobs (which begin in December), call 228-9650.