NEW ORLEANS -- As census day approaches, the leader of a suburban New Orleans community virtually wiped out by Hurricane Katrina is urging those planning to return to stay with friends or family on the eve of the count so they're included in the St. Bernard Parish tally.
Parish President Craig Taffaro said he doesn't want anyone breaking U.S. Census rules, which call for people to be listed where they are living and sleeping most of the time when the count is taken. And he doesn't want anyone staying with friends or family to be counted twice.
However, he, like other leaders and advocates for Gulf Coast communities still rebuilding from hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, believes the extraordinary steps being taken by the census -- including plans to hand-deliver an estimated 300,000 questionnaires to homes in 11 south Louisiana parishes affected by the storms -- do not go far enough. And he believes those working and planning to come back "in the next few months or the next year or two" should be counted.
"The basic (census) rule is, if they're in the community at the time of the count, they will be counted. If they're not, they will not. We're not asking people to fraudulently build numbers," Taffaro told The Associated Press on Saturday, adding later: "We
think it's more appropriate to count people where they're in transition to, in the context of the recovery. I don't think this would be appropriate if we weren't in a recovery."
A spokeswoman for the 2010 Census did not immediately return a message Saturday. Taffaro's position was first reported Saturday by The Times-Picayune.
There's a lot at stake with the 10-year count, including federal representation and billions of dollars a year in funding nationwide. Taffaro said he doesn't want his community to miss out on its fair share as it continues to rebuild. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin took political heat last year for raising similar sentiments and saying he wanted there to be a way for people not yet back, but planning to be, counted as New Orleans residents.
The rate of return seen in the first years after Katrina has slowed in the New Orleans area, but it's continued to be a challenge for demographers to get a handle on who's here now. The 2010 count is expected to provide the first real benchmark of
post-Katrina life. Census day is April 1.
St. Bernard had about 67,000 residents in the last decennial count, in 2000. Taffaro puts that figure around 40,000 to 41,000 currently but believes the population could rise to 50,000 or so over the decade.
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