Most people prefer to reflect as a decade comes to an end.

As 2010 approaches, Charleston city government wants to look toward the future, and city officials will need help from Eastern students to do so.

City Planner Steve Pamperin said the U.S. Census Bureau would mail census forms in March to residents across the United States. The official count begins in April. Every resident roughly represents $300 in revenue. For a city that is predicting deficits during the next five years, an accurate population could have extra importance.

“This is our one chance in 10 years to get our numbers right,” Pamperin said.

He said Charleston historically experiences 3-percent growth in a 10-year span, which would put the 2010 numbers just under 22,000. Pamperin said Eastern’s enrollment has increased by 2,000 since the last census. In 2008, the city conducted a search, and modified and changed 2,000 additional addresses, with the census bureau approving the majority of the changes.

“(With) all of these things together, our hope is we’ll be around that 22,000 number,” Pamperin said.

Students are technically a resident of Charleston because they live in the town more than half of the year. Pamperin said students need to make sure to count every roommate in the apartment or house when filling out the census form.

“Don’t throw it away,” he said. “Fill it out. Fill it out for all your roommates and get that information back to Census.”

Pamperin said an accurate population count is critical because state shared revenue, such as the Motor Fuel Tax, is based off official population.

Many of those revenues, like the Motor Fuel fund, go to road, sidewalk and other infrastructure projects that every resident uses, Pamperin said.

He said the city began giving information to students through the Good Neighbor Program in August. He said information about it would also be attached to water bills. He said the city plans to distribute flyers about the census around campus, along with working with local landlords to have them stress the importance of being counted. Pamperin said the city would have limited contact with the census bureau during the actual count, adding they will have a chance to ask for recounts, if it is necessary.

Affected shared revenues for all cities will begin in early 2011.

“The census does directly affect them – whether they know it or not,” Pamperin said.

Stephen Di Benedetto can be reached at 581-7942

or sdibenedetto@eiu.edu.