Brooklyn Park, MD (April 1, 2019) – Today, Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman kicked off the county’s outreach effort for the 2020 Census with local government and community leaders. Pittman announced a Complete Count Committee and explained why an accurate census count is important to ensure adequate federal and state resources are devoted to Anne Arundel County.
“In terms of state and federal funding, if you don’t get counted then you don’t count – and that has real consequences,” said County Executive Pittman. “In this census tract here in Brooklyn Park, nearly a quarter of the people did not get counted in 2010. We’re not going to let that happen in 2020. That’s why we’re kicking off this effort today to make sure everyone counts in Anne Arundel County.”
The Brooklyn Park Library is in Census Tract 7501 which has a population of 4,086. According to data from the 2010 census, nearly 23 percent of the tract did not respond to the last census. That corresponds to 939 people failing to be counted, which translates to $1,821 per person and a total of $1,709,919 in state and federal funding lost to this community.
County Executive Pittman was joined at the kickoff event by federal census officials and local leaders, including Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley, County Councilwoman Sarah Lacey (District 1), County Councilwoman Allison Pickard (District 2), and State Delegate Ned Carey (District 31A), all of whom made remarks.
In accordance with federal census guidelines, County Executive Pittman established a Complete Count Committee comprised of community leaders and local government officials to encourage the public to be counted in the 2020 census. Pittman appointed Harry Freeman of Pasadena to chair the committee. Freeman is a community leader and military veteran who works as an analyst on Fort Meade.
"We are pleased to partner with the county to get a complete count for the 2020 Census," said City of Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley. "We have communities that may be difficult to count, but we will be conducting the necessary outreach to get the job done."