Mount Pleasant is looking to Central Michigan University’s Public Relations Student Society of America to help achieve an accurate 2010 census.

The City Commission hired John Bailey and Associates to aid the city the population count at its meeting Monday. The Lansing-based marketing firm hired PRSSA to assist with the count in the spring.

PRSSA President and Allen Park senior Angela Hernandez said the group hopes to change misinformation about the census.

“There are a lot of (student) misconceptions about the US census. We’re aiming to help try change that,” Hernandez said. “This is great because it’s an opportunity for our group to get experience in public relations, but also because we are doing something to help benefit our city.”

Census surveys will be sent to all resident households and CMU residence halls in February and March, said Julie Swidwinski, Mount Pleasant community information coordinator.

It is important for students to participate in the census because this will be the first time many students will be counted, she said.

“Because students live in Mount Pleasant more than six months (per year), they are residents of the city,” she said.

As not all students are Mount Pleasant residents, Union Township also will collect student census data.

Funding dependent on data

Vice Mayor Bruce Kilmer said many city functions depend on census data.

“The more accurate our count and people that are registered will mean a lot of different factors, (as well as) aid from state and federal services,” he said.

Street development, hospital and housing placements and city zoning procedures are among projects affected by the census.

The City Commission approved $60,000 for the appointment of a Census Count Committee in its July 13 meeting. A $19,000 census promotional campaign is included in the figure.

The city’s 2000 census showed a city population of 25,946, increasing city funding from the state by approximately $700,000 annually.

National census data distributes more than $400 billion in federal and state funding to local, state and tribal governments annually.

E-mail the author: Hilary Farrell