Published: Friday, December 18, 2009
Residents in areas being annexed into the Marysville will be visited by both federal and municipal census takers
MARYSVILLE — People who live in a large unincorporated area set to join Marysville on Dec. 30 will be visited by census takers in 2010 not once but twice.
State law requires a city to take an official head count of any area newly added to its borders, Marysville planning director Gloria Hirashima said.
Census takers will start knocking on doors in the neighborhoods east of State Avenue, stretching from Grove Street on the south nearly to 152nd Street NE to the north, in early January, Hirashima said. She expects the work to take until mid-February.
In the spring, federal census takers will visit the newly annexed area, along with neighborhoods in the rest of the United States, as part of the nation's once-a-decade count.
The area of about 19,000 people becomes part of Marysville on Dec. 30, bumping the city's population up to about 57,000. It will surpass Edmonds at 40,900 to become the second-largest city in the county, behind Everett's 103,500. The city needs an accurate count of residents in the area for several reasons, Hirashima said. The state distributes tax revenue based on population, and grant funding is affected by city size as well, she said.
Also, if by chance the newly added area has 20,000 people or more, the city could collect another $10 million from the state.
The city did the large annexation because for 10 years it will be allowed to collect one-tenth of a cent more per dollar in sales tax for every 10,000 people it adds in a single bite. The state law that allows the city to collect that extra money expires in 2010.
The tax money at stake for each new annexation of 10,000 people works out to about $1 million each year for 10 years, city officials have said.
The city will send “Welcome to Marysville” letters to people in the area letting them know the census is coming, Hirashima said. Census workers will wear fluorescent vests and carry city ID, she said.
The questions won't take long — “only a minute or so,” she said. If someone isn't home, the census takers will leave a questionnaire on the doorstep and the resident may then call a number to answer the questions by phone.
The city has a $92,000 contract with the firm Calm River of Gig Harbor to do the work.
For more information, contact city staffers at 360-363-8000.
Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439, sheets@heraldnet.com.
State law requires a city to take an official head count of any area newly added to its borders, Marysville planning director Gloria Hirashima said.
Census takers will start knocking on doors in the neighborhoods east of State Avenue, stretching from Grove Street on the south nearly to 152nd Street NE to the north, in early January, Hirashima said. She expects the work to take until mid-February.
In the spring, federal census takers will visit the newly annexed area, along with neighborhoods in the rest of the United States, as part of the nation's once-a-decade count.
The area of about 19,000 people becomes part of Marysville on Dec. 30, bumping the city's population up to about 57,000. It will surpass Edmonds at 40,900 to become the second-largest city in the county, behind Everett's 103,500. The city needs an accurate count of residents in the area for several reasons, Hirashima said. The state distributes tax revenue based on population, and grant funding is affected by city size as well, she said.
Also, if by chance the newly added area has 20,000 people or more, the city could collect another $10 million from the state.
The city did the large annexation because for 10 years it will be allowed to collect one-tenth of a cent more per dollar in sales tax for every 10,000 people it adds in a single bite. The state law that allows the city to collect that extra money expires in 2010.
The tax money at stake for each new annexation of 10,000 people works out to about $1 million each year for 10 years, city officials have said.
The city will send “Welcome to Marysville” letters to people in the area letting them know the census is coming, Hirashima said. Census workers will wear fluorescent vests and carry city ID, she said.
The questions won't take long — “only a minute or so,” she said. If someone isn't home, the census takers will leave a questionnaire on the doorstep and the resident may then call a number to answer the questions by phone.
The city has a $92,000 contract with the firm Calm River of Gig Harbor to do the work.
For more information, contact city staffers at 360-363-8000.
Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439, sheets@heraldnet.com.
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