Saugus taking ’08 census

SAUGUS – Residents should be receiving an important piece of mail in the next day or so and Town Clerk Joanne Rappa is all but begging you to return it to sender.The 2008 census will be mailed to each and every household in town this week and Rappa is imploring every household to complete and return the forms as soon as possible.The town has struggled for years to get an accurate census. Census figures hover at around 26,000 residents, but town officials are convinced the real number is closer to 30,000. Many chalk the discrepancy up to illegal apartments and residents who fail to register to vote.Rappa said without accurate census figures the town will lose out on needed state aid for the schools, Chapter 90 money, which funds roadwork as well as support in the way of grants from both state and federal government.The Clerk’s Office has been working over the last year to update the census through matching assessors records with street listings and cross referencing listings with other town departments and birth announcements.Rappa’s office said they’ve been able to add about 2,000 names to the census list, but it is still a battle.Rappa said there could also be consequences for those who don’t return their census. Registered voters who fail to return their census could be taken off voter lists and they will have to show proof of residency in order to vote in the upcoming primary and November elections. Other’s who don’t return the paperwork could deprive themselves of proof of residency requirements needed for applying to state colleges, and veterans stand to lose their eligibility for the “welcome home” bonus, which, Rappa adds, they valiantly earn.Rappa said it’s also important for the town to get its numbers up because the federal census will be coming out in another two years. The federal census is only conducted every 10 years, so whatever number the town puts forth in 2010 it will be stuck with, and all federal aid will be based on, until 2020.Residents who don’t receive their census form by the second week of January or who have questions or comments on the census can call the Town Clerk’s office at 781-231-4101.