MAPPING OUT THE COUNTY—Craig Goff, U.S. Census Bureau assistant manager for recruiting, shows a Ventura County map with marked census tracts that are part of the 285,000 county addresses that will receive the population and demographic questionnaires. JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers A new Census Bureau recently opened in East Ventura County, and its employees have an important job.

They will make sure the population is counted accurately, which is vital because the distribution of federal tax dollars is tied to population.

The census needs to count everyone, including illegal aliens. The bureau is forbidden by law to share personal information with other agenices.

Besides providing a state-by-state breakdown of household size and racial makeup, census data determine how and where more than $400 billion of federal funding is spent each year. The money pays for wide range of infrastructure and health and human services. The data also decide how many seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives and, locally, where retail stores, schools, hospitals and new housing developments might be needed.

“The census is very critical. We believe that about $1,400 per person per year comes back to the county from people filling out the census form and being counted,” said Dave Rodriguez, a Central Coast team leader for the Census Bureau.

Rodriguez said only 74 percent of Ventura County’s 753,000 residents returned their census forms via mail in 2000.

Taking part in the population count for 2010 is a new census office on Baxter Way in the Westlake Village portion of Thousand Oaks. The operation will employ about 1,000 workers to assist in the decennial population count. The census will cost about $15 billion.

“The census is the greatest civil rights act that anybody could exercise as a person living in the U.S. There is no more fundamental act of political representation than to respond to the census,” said Lynne Choy Uyeda-Gin, Census Bureau spokesperson.

Questionnaires will be mailed in mid-March. The deadline to return the forms is April 1. Questions in the packet will ask about the age, sex, race and other information pertaining to household members.

In May and June, census takers will go door-to-door to inquire about residents who have not responded to the paperwork.

Census representatives also work with nonprofit providers to count homeless people living in campgrounds, marinas and other areas.

Herbert Gooch, California Lutheran University political science professor, said the census is vital because it helps activate political change and mend imbalances between rich and poor communities.

“It gives a socioeconomic clue to the differences and the needs of different groups within the county, and that in turn gives us important political clues as to the future of the county,” Gooch said.

The professor believes the state’s population may have declined by about 2 million in the past two years. If California’s population isn’t fully counted in the 2010 census, the state could lose a Congressional seat and an electoral vote

Ventura County Supervisor Peter Foy said the census should address California’s illegal immigration problem.

“Responding to the census is critical since California only gets 78 cents for every dollar it sends to Washington, D.C.,” Foy said.

The supervisor said he hopes the survey will help the state deal with imbalances that are caused by illegal aliens.

“I just want to make sure we know who is legal and who isn’t. We should know this information about everybody to get a clear and transparent count,” Foy said.

Uyeda-Gin said the 2010 census will only provide bare bones information and do little more than fulfill its constitutional mandate. Personal data will not, she said, be shared with other agencies.

“Asking for citizenship status would defeat the purpose of the census,” Uyeda-Gin said.

“If we are to plan for a longterm quality of life for our community, they (undocumented workers) should be counted because they too will be using our services.”

Dan Paranick, assistant city manager for Simi Valley, said residents should not underestimate the census’ impact on a local level.

“After the census is completed, the information that’s gathered in the census is used to distribute federal funding to the city but also to other nonprofit groups in the community,” he said.

“So if we have an accurate and fair count of the number of folks in town then that means there are more dollars coming into the town to the people that are providing public services, and that, over the long run, improves the community.”