You may have heard that April 1st was the deadline to mail your census form.
Not so say Census officials.
City and local governments are trying to spread the word that there's still time to mail in census forms.
The official deadline is a little vague. Repeated calls to the official Census 2010 helpline by NBCLA revealed various answers. The recorded greeting at (866) 872-6868 tells callers they have until "mid-April" although when NBCLA questioned live phone representatives, they responded by saying there is no established deadline.
The much publicized April 1 date was only a point of reference used to determine who was in a household at that time.
Palm Springs officials reminded their residents that they could mail forms as late as April 12, said city spokeswoman Amy Blaisdell.
The census form will help determine how more than $400 billion in federal funds will be allocated to cities, Blaisdell said.
Local
"Every person counted represents $2,000 in federal funds per year for our city,'' Mills said. "If Palm Springs is to receive all the funding it is entitled to -- it is critical that we receive an accurate count of the city's population.''
Census workers will begin going door to door to households that failed to mail back their forms -- a massive operation that costs taxpayers an average of $57 per household versus the 42 cents it takes to get a response back by mail, according to the Census 2010 website.
Census participation is mandatory under Title 13 of the United States Code. The 2010 Census form is one of the shortest in U.S. history, consisting of 10 questions. The Census website says it should take about 10 minutes to complete.
