JEFFERSON COUNTY — If the 2020 Census would have ended on June 30th as originally scheduled, Jefferson County would have about 14-thousand less people than when the last census was taken in 2010. Because of COVID-19, the deadline to take the census has been pushed back and local leaders are driving the point home that everyone needs to be counted.

The city of Mt. Vernon’s census liaison Lori Ulrich says if you use any type of government service, you are affected by the census.

Ulrich says for each person not counted, area taxing bodies lose about $1,000 in federal money per year. So if the June 30th count would have been final this year, Jefferson County would have lost about $14 million federal tax dollars a year and $140 million dollars over the next decade.