“The 2020 Census is critical as it has a significant impact on how billions in federal funds are distributed, such as SNAP, Medicaid, hospitals, fire departments, and other critical programs and services.

“The data collected from the Census will impact our community through these programs and services over the next decade. From a local finance perspective, accurate census figures are critical to ensure that the City of Avalon receives its proportionate share of funding distributed from Federal, State, and County governments to improve local infrastructure and provide services to our residents and visitors.

“The loss of visitors in response to the pandemic makes these revenue sources even more critical to maintain infrastructure and services while visitor revenues are impacted.

“As an example of some of the projects impacted by the Census, the City recently used Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, which are allocated based on Census data, to contract with a local vendor to make curb cuts and other access improvements for City streets and sidewalks.

“The Beacon Hill Chairlift is another example of a local improvements funded by CDBG. The City also uses Local Return Funds from County Metro to offset the operating costs of its fixed route and dial-a-ride transit systems, and uses Highway Users Tax, also known as gas taxes, to repair and maintain its streets and roads. Both of these revenue sources use population as a basis for allocating revenues from the County and State, respectively.

“Without accurate census information, the City would have to rely on other local revenue sources to offset lost revenues in order to continue to maintain infrastructure and fund these operations.”