Tuesday morning, I left my usual anchor post a little early for my monthly breakfast with Ocean County leaders. Once a month, the Ocean County Mayors Association meets at a local restaurant in Toms River to talk about the state of things in the various municipalities. The eggs and home fries are great and so is the discussion. The sessions are always a who's who of county leaders from Toms River Mayor Tom Kelaher to Brick Mayor Steve Acropolis, Manchester Mayor Mike Fressola to Stafford Mayor Carl Block. President DiAnne Gove, who also serves as Mayor of Long Beach Township leads the meeting followed by a treasurer's report and a guest speaker. The issues range from budgetary and economic concerns to happy issues like ribbon cuttings and grant nominations.
This month, Ocean County Freeholder Joe Vicari was the man of the hour. Although April 1st, 2010 seems like a long time away, Ocean County officials are working to promote the Census for the upcoming year. The 2010 Census is of extreme importance to the residents and government living at the shore. As mandated by the United States Constitution, our nation conducts a census survey in an effort to count every person living in the country. The multi-billion dollar operation requires years of planning and more than a half million temporary workers. In Ocean County, this is no exception. Freeholder Vicari, who serves as the U.S. Census liaison for the county, wants to stress the importance of accurate counts because in past tallies, the numbers have been off. Why important? An accurate count of the population is vital to various sources of federal funding and even determines legislative and congressional representation. According to Freeholder Vicari, New Jersey came up short of the 15,187 people needed to keep its 13th seat in the House of Representatives based on 2008 population estimates. In addition, census figures have a direct effect on schools, non-profit organizations, businesses and the community. The data is used to make decisions on marketing to target demographics and populations in businesses both in the public and private sector.
In year's past, Vicari says some people were hesitant about participating resulting in miscounts of anywhere from 25 to 30-thousand people. Vicari says when this happens "the loss of one person takes about ten years to recover and the communities lose out on much needed funding." Some of the concern was because of privacy issues. Vicari says by federal law, all of the information provided will remain completely confidential.Another issue? Snowbirds, or people who generally migrate out of the area during the cold winter months to warmer climates. Vicari says it doesn't matter if your driver's license or car registration features an out-of-state address - "if you call Ocean County home for most of the year, you must be counted a resident." Vicari adds "the guiding principle for the Census is the usual residence, which is defined as the place where the person lives and sleeps most of the time."
At the breakfast, Freeholder Vicari told Ocean County Mayors that a massive marketing campaign will be in place to further drive home the importance. This will be seen in print advertising, radio spots and even local television commercials. Vicari said more information will be available at the Ocean County Connection at the Ocean County Mall on Hooper Avenue in Toms River.
The Census is also adding some extra temporary job opportunities for local residents. Vicari says “Working for the Census may help some folks getting through the challenging economic times we are facing." He added, “Jobs may not be immediately available, so if anyone is even thinking of wanting a job at some time in the future, they should start the application process now.” For more information on working for the Census office, call 1-866-861-2010 or visit http://www.census.gov/2010census/jobs
In addition, Governor Jon Corzine announced this week that he will be slashing the budget for the state's tourism industry by at least $3-million-dollars. Freeholder Vicari says "tourism is the life blood of Ocean County and cutting any part of the budget would be detrimental to a billion-dollar-a-year business." Vicari says close to 70-thousand people in the Garden State are employed in the industry and if anything, Corzine should restore the funds and create new jobs to stimulate and grow the hurting economy. Vicari says he will continue to push for Corzine to change his decision along with other lawmakers from around the state.
by Jason Allentoff
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