Jonesboro Mayor Harold Perrin has called a news conference for 11 a.m. Thursday at the Council Chambers in the Municipal Center to create awareness about the 2020 U.S. Census and its impact on Jonesboro.
The news media and general public are invited to attend. Decadal census totals not only determine population counts but impact federal and state grant funding, meaning services for the community, including the poor and at risk but also highway construction, hospitals, education and the broad spectrum of public services that government provides.
“It is critical that everyone living in Jonesboro be counted,” Perrin said. “Statistics show that every person counted in the Census represents $3,300 in funding per year, and that lasts for 10 years. So ensuring that we count every person is critical.”
Census workers will be combing areas over the next several months, but the official count date is April 1, meaning wherever a person lives on April 1 represents where he or she will be reflected on the Census.