Delon Shurtz
lethbridge herald
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It's quick, it's easy, and it's painless.
That rules out a root canal.
Actually, it's participating in the city's annual census. It's quick because census takers only ask three questions; it's easy because those three questions don't have anything to do with physics or math; and it's painless because, well, how much can it hurt answering three quick and easy questions?
Census takers will be going door to door in Lethbridge beginning April 7 as the city gathers basic information on which federal and provincial funding is based. In about one-third the time it takes to cook a three-minute egg, a census taker will have asked for the number of people living in a residence, their ages and genders.
That's it.
"Our message is quick, convenient and confidential," says city clerk Aleta Neufeld.
It almost seems too simple, particularly when considering how important the information is to the city.
Neufeld says it's critical the city get an accurate count of its residents to maximize the amount of money it receives from the higher levels of government, which provide dollars based on population.
The math is easy. The more people living in Lethbridge, the more money the city receives to help build such things as the community arts centre currently going up in the downtown core, and the planned twin ice arena.
The city also uses the population information to help with municipal planning and providing police, fire, transit and other important services.
The city is hiring about 200 census takers to go door to door from April 7-22. Each census taker is paid $1.50 for every form they fill out at a residence, and while it may take longer is some areas than others to find people home and gather the information - and may require repeated attempts - census takers earn, on average, about $430, including $50 they receive for training.
"We pay our census takers very comparable to other municipalities," Neufeld says.
Some census takers, particularly those who are repeat workers and are familiar with their route and residents who live along it, may complete their job in a matter of days. Others may take longer if they have to return before they find people home. Census areas vary in size but are generally between 250 and 300 dwellings.
"Our goal is to capture every resident living in Lethbridge."
But, Neufeld admits, "some houses are more challenging."
The city is still accepting applications for census takers. Applicants need only be Lethbridge residents, physically able to walk long distances, and be at least 18 years old. Anyone interested in applying can go online at www.lethbridge.ca/census, or go to the second floor of City Hall, 910 4 Ave. S. Applications will be accepted until 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
If residents don't want to wait for a census taker to come calling, they can fill out a form online beginning April 1, or they can pick up a form on the second floor of City Hall.