This is one in a series of Voices pieces by Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke. We’re calling it the Mayor’s Minute. Want to share your voice? You can contribute to NOOGAtoday here.

From canvassing to phone calls to crafting messages for hard-to-reach populations, members of Chattanooga’s Complete Count Committee — a diverse coalition of residents and organizations — have been working together since last year to prepare for the crucial 2020 Census.

Unfortunately, on Aug. 3, the US Census Bureau declared that field operations for the 2020 Census would end on Sep. 30. By reducing the time we have to follow up with households our community might miss out on crucial funding and fair representation when we need it the most.

Just like with voting, responding to the Census is one of the most important civic acts Americans can take. In Chattanooga, our most vulnerable populations risk going uncounted and unseen: people of color, minorities, people with disabilities, families with low income, children, and people experiencing homelessness. The federal funding that flows from a full and accurate Census count is used for everything -- educating our kids, fixing our roads and bridges, even deciding how an eventual COVID vaccine may be deployed.

Eliminating four weeks of door-knocking, the largest and most labor-intensive operation of any Census means the people in our city who need resources the most will be even less likely to be counted. In our community, $1,091 in federal funding is at stake for every individual who gets counted as part of our population. Given the economic hardships, so many families are experiencing because of the pandemic, we certainly don’t want to lose out on that money.

If we don’t get our response rates up, that’s exactly what will happen. As of last month, Chattanooga had a 58.2% self-response rate to the census, leaving more than 37,000 households uncounted. We have 14 census tracts within Chattanooga that have a response rate of under 50%.

Over the next month, Census workers will be fanning out across Chattanooga to make personal contact with Chattanoogans — wearing masks and maintaining social distancing, of course. Door knocking and other census outreach activities are meant to reach the households that have not self responded, which are in historically undercounted neighborhoods with groups including people of color, immigrants, low-income households in both rural and urban areas, and more. These workers don’t have much time to lose.

Chattanooga must get a complete count to direct further recovery resources to the communities that need them most. We need Congress to fully fund the 2020 Census and extend deadlines for reporting apportionment data so that we can make sure everyone is counted.

If you haven’t already responded to the Census, please do so today. In Chattanooga, everyone counts, and right now, I’m counting on you to do your part.

— Mayor Andy Berke