Vestavia prepares for 2020 census

Prepare for a knock on your door this summer if you don’t respond to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The 2020 census is underway, and the city of Vestavia Hills is asking residents to participate.

“The results of the census are what determines the allocation of federal dollars that fund our community,” said the city’s communications director, Cinnamon McCulley.

The city is working to address concerns some people have expressed about the census, McCulley said.

No private data will be publicized, no undocumented residents will be deported, and the bureau will not ask anyone for their Social Security number, McCulley said. While bureau employees will ask how many people live in an apartment, no one should be scared if they have more people living in their apartment than is allowed by their landlord, as the bureau will not turn that information into their landlord.

U.S. Code prohibits the census bureau from publicizing data, McCulley said.

The bureau will also never ask for someone’s banking information, so if someone comes to your door and asks for that, it is a scam, McCulley said.

There are multiple ways to participate: online, by mail or by phone. Online, residents can visit 2020census.gov. Residents should receive a printed mail version by mid-March, and they can participate via mail or by calling the number provided on the mail, McCulley said.

If residents do not respond, workers will start knocking on doors in May or June.

McCulley said the results of the census may help the city determine how best to allocate resources based on the number of people that live in each part of the city. While the city has almost assuredly grown in the past 10 years, the census will show exactly how much it has grown.