OGDEN -- The 2010 census could conjure up a new Utah congressional seat and is not an immigration crackdown.
To promote those points, the U.S. Census Bureau hosted a "Spirit of Community Celebration" on Wednesday to highlight the first stirrings of the 2010 nationwide head count.
The intent was to get the word out about the importance of the census -- a possible fourth seat in the U.S. House of Representatives -- and to remind people it's not a hunt for illegal immigrants.
And, they're hiring, beginning in May, about 1,000 temporary census takers for the Ogden area who will be paid between $11.50 and $14.50 an hour.
Given the city's Hispanic growth, it's important for Ogden to get a handle on its Hispanic population, Mark Johnson, city management services director, said in an interview.
Currently, the city of 83,000 residents is 34 percent Hispanic, city officials say.
That figure was 20 percent at the time of the 2000 census, Johnson said.
"We need them to participate, to know its not the federales coming," he said.
About 50 business and community leaders were invited to the gathering at the Ogden Local Census Office, 2263 Grant Ave., where they were asked to make the census a priority with their organizations.
A roster of speakers included a Denver regional census manager, Graham DeJong; Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey; veteran City Councilman Jesse Garcia; United Way of Northern Utah CEO Bob Hunter; and Utah State University Vice Provost Ronda Menlove, also a state representative.
Census Bureau literature handed out at the meeting and the agency's Web site, 2010Census.gov, assure that all information gathered in the census is confidential: "By law, the Census Bureau cannot share an individual's answers with anyone, including welfare and immigration agencies."
In fact, every bureau worker takes an oath for life to protect the confidentiality of census responses. Violations can bring up to five years in jail and/or a fine of up to $250,000, according to a bureau FAQ list.
The theme of Wednesday's gathering, mirrored by a larger affair in Salt Lake City, labeled the census "Easy, Important, and Safe." A short video that opened the event included leaders of four national Latino organizations urging Hispanics to come forward.
Garcia addressed the safe aspect in his remarks. "We know the information doesn't go to other agencies, but there's a need to get the word out to the undocumented population so they know the information doesn't go back and forth."
In the bigger picture, DeJong said, the census guides the annual appropriation of $400 billion in federal funds. "And that's 10 years of funding decisions."
For those seeking census jobs, try the Web site 2010censusjobs.gov or call toll free (866) 861-2010, said Pat Wicks, assistant manager for administration at the Ogden census office on Grant, which will head the nose-counting for eight counties from Tooele north.
Her boss, Newell Wilson, said his office will emphasize hiring Spanish-speakers.
An estimated 67 percent of U.S. Census Bureau surveys are returned, he said. "That's the easy part."
The hard part is tracking down the other 33 percent, he said, often resulting in filling out the survey "face to face on doorsteps."
Census workers will also be visiting "dormitories, soup kitchens and homeless shelters," Wilson said, with the shortest census form the bureau has ever used.
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