Since the number of residents can affect the number of dollars the town might receive from state and federal sources in the coming years, Fuquay-Varina is planning now to see that every person living within the corporate limits is counted in the upcoming 2010 census.

Last week the town board voted to allocate $3,000 to a Complete Count Committee established by Wake County to promote a complete count of all citizens inside and outside the municipalities. The committee will advertise the upcoming head count, urge citizens to fill out the census forms they receive and follow up the initial campaign with reminders.

Census information provided to board members indicated that Fuquay-Varina had a “final response rate” of 70 percent in the 2000 census, equal to the percentage recorded in Wake Forest but less than Cary, Apex, Garner and Holly Springs. Cary had the highest rate at 77 percent.

To come up with the percentages, census takers begin by surveying a town and recording the addresses of every building inside the city limits which could possibly have someone living in it. Then they mail out census forms to all the addresses with a request that they be filled out and returned. These mailings are followed by other reminders and finally by personal visits to those addresses from which they have received no response.

The percentage of response is then worked out, using the number anticipated based on addresses, compared to the actual census forms received.

Sharon Peterson, long range planning administrator for Wake County, appeared at last week’s board meeting to explain the way in which the census will be carried out. She said the initial census mailings will begin in mid-March of next year. She was joined by Kayling Tolan, partnership specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau.

In encouraging the board to consider participation in the Complete Count Committee, Town Manager Andy Hedrick pointed out that many revenue sources that benefit the town make distribution using formulas that take population into account. He said getting all citizens counted “is more than a civic benefit; it is a financial one as well.”

Information he provided on the census noted that Morrisville officials felt the 2000 census did not accurately show the number of residents in the town, so that municipality paid for a special census in 2004, expending $130,000 for that purpose. The town estimates it subsequently received $8 million in additional state shared revenues due to the adjusted population count.

Most other towns in Wake County have committed varying amounts to the Complete Count Committee although some have indicated they want to use the money to run their own campaigns urging residents to fill out census forms.

Other census information provided to the board shows Fuquay-Varina with an estimated population of 17,002 as of July 1, 2008. That figure represents an increase of 1,752 residents from the estimated count in July of 2007, for a one-year percentage increase of 11.5 percent.