Community leaders are committed to maximizing local participation in the 2020 census.

On Monday at City Hall, City Commissioner Sue Parrigin read a proclamation encouraging Bowling Green and Warren County residents to participate in the 2020 census.

Parrigin also discussed the formation of a local Complete Count Committee, which will work to spread the word in the next year.

“The Complete County Committee will engage in publicity, outreach and education efforts to ensure that all our residents are counted once and only once and in the correct place,” she said.

Warren County Judge-Executive Mike Buchanon said census results determine how federal money is allocated to communities across the nation, with each person counted in the census representing roughly $1,000 in federal money the community can expect to receive.

“If we undercount, we cost the citizens of our community a lot of money and if people intentionally think they gain something from not being counted, they don’t,” he said. “They actually lose.”

Parrigin said the census is an important resource when it comes to community planning.

“The census data, individual census data, let’s make this perfectly clear, is never shared, but the aggregate or the demographics of what the data can tell us is very important,” she said. “We’ll know where people are located, it helps us do city planning, it helps our planning and zoning folks know where the community is growing and where populations are kind of moving. It helps us to understand the needs of infrastructure here in our community.”

The Complete Count Committee consists of roughly 35 members and is growing.

“We’re made up of those folks that can reach people that maybe might have a language barrier, some sort of reason why they’re just a little hesitant, reluctant to fill out the form,” Parrigin said.

The 2020 census will be the first time people have been able to respond to the census online, which Parrigin anticipates will increase participation and make the process of counting people more efficient.

“It’s going to make it a lot more accessible to a lot more people conveniently and I think that that is going to make a big difference on the percentage that we count,” she said.

Crystal Boyett, a partnership specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau, said the bureau is working to establish a Complete County Committee in every county.

“It’s part of our civic duty as citizens here in the U.S.,” she said of the census, which the Constitution requires every 10 years. “It also helps allocate the apportionment of seats within the House of Representatives, so we want to make sure that Kentucky gets its fair share of representation.”

Boyett said the local committee is aiming for 80 percent self-response participation, which she considers a realistic goal based on the 76 percent response the community saw in 2010 and the 75 percent response to the 2000 census.

– Follow Daily News reporter Jackson French on Twitter @Jackson_French or visit bgdailynews.com.