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With the national decennial census looming next year, the Board of Selectmen approved a resolution that generally supports participation and in the federal program, but that does not yet require any action by town.

As other Connecticut cities form temporary boards, commissions, or task forces to help guide their citizens through the process, Madison has not yet committed to any particular course of action, according to First Selectman Peggy Lyons.

Lyons said that she is currently in conversations with other board members and town officials, and told The Source that she plans to come back in January with a more definitive plan on how Madison’s government will be involved in the census process.

“I wanted to spend more time thinking about how we wanted to do it,” she said. “That’s all...Some towns are doing complete town committees, and some are just doing other avenues of educating the towns...I just haven’t had a chance to sit down and figure out what makes sense for us.”

The United States Constitution requires a nationwide census every 10 years, and uses data obtained in that process for numerous purposes.

Though the census is run entirely by a federal agency, the United States Census Bureau, municipal and state governments have a strong motivation to make sure their residents respond to the survey.

According to the non-governmental advocacy group National League of Cities, about $800 billion in federal money is allocated to municipalities based on population size and demographics. The census is also important for non-government research purposes, and can also help determine things like federal and state relief efforts in the event of a natural disaster.

Lyons said she did not have any reason to think there would be any unique issues with the census in Madison, but emphasized that the town wanted to ensure everyone was aware of the importance of responding accurately to the survey.

“We’ve very supportive and want to do some things to raise public awareness,” she said. “But I’m not sure—obviously there’s a resource issues, so we need to think through about we tap into the community in the most efficient way.”

Lyons said that Madison is “late to the game” on the census issue, as some other towns began planning for the census months ago. She said that might make it less viable to invest the time and energy into forming a committee at this point, which would take time to deliberate and structure itself before it could even begin any substantial work.

“I want to make sure we’re just as effective as we can be,” said Lyons.

Lyons said the most important thing to do was make sure residents understood why participation was important—for Madison, as well as the state as a whole.

“We have a lot of busy professionals in our community, and Connecticut gives a lot of tax dollars and we don’t get as much back as we think we should,” Lyons said. “The census helps in that regard.”

For more information about the 2020 census, visit www.census.gov.