Williamson County citizens honored their civic duty and filled out their census forms for the City of Franklin and were counted in the special census in 2010. In all, 66,335 residents responded compared to 62,487 taken four years ago.
Now it’s time for an independent agency, the Upper Cumberland Development District (UCDD) to verify a requisite 10 percent of the count. Workers must get 6,600 addresses verified by June 1, 2014. Usually they would go door-to-door, but very often people are not home or they do not want to answer the door for a stranger.
In an unprecedented show of civic unity, members of the local Kiwanis, Lions and Rotary clubs have joined together and will provide the verification labor for the UCDD. Verification volunteers from these local organizations will be at the baseball fields at Jim Warren Park and the Williamson County Soccer Complex from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. this Saturday, April 26.
Even if citizens are not attending a ball game, they are urged to stop by the parks, take in a game, and verify their proper inclusion in the count. If the UCDD does not complete the verification of 6,600 addresses on Saturday, workers will begin going door-to-door in the following weeks.
They will be wearing bright yellow vests and will visit each field at game time allowing residents to verify that they have been properly counted.
“If you see a Kiwanian, Lion or Rotarian approaching you, please help them verify your address so we can apply for state funding that will help us pay for all our city services for our growing community,” said City Administrator Eric Stuckey. “It will take citizens a few seconds to verify their information and will mean an additional $400,000 per year in state-shared revenue. These are taxes our citizens have already paid to the state. The City will simply be receiving its fair share.”
Photo courtesy of the Williamson County Historical Commission.
