The race to finish strong with the 2020 Census just got more competitive. The City of Decatur has challenged Avondale Estates to a battle to see which city has the best participation rate. Less than 1% currently separates these two. As of today, 74.9% of households in Avondale Estates have responded compared to 74.3% of Decatur households. It's still a close race that will end Wednesday.
At stake are more than bragging rights. In this friendly competition, the mayors of both cities have made a wager. Details are still being ironed out, but should Decatur win, a new beer will be brewed in honor of Decatur. However, when (not if) Decatur loses they will have to hang a large banner at City Hall congratulating Avondale Estates and their mayor will have to post on social media a top 10 list of her favorite things about AE. Other ideas are still being discussed.
Yet the real stakes are the future for DeKalb County. The Census is used to allocate funding from federal agencies and nonprofits. Those dollars go directly into community programs for counties, cities and schools. Census results are also used to determine representation in the United States House of Representatives.
You should have gotten your letter and code in the mail. But even if you didn't, you can still complete your information at https://my2020census.gov/ or call 1-844-330-2020.