Census takers fanning out across Maine

BOSTON — Scores of temporary Census Bureau workers are fanning out across towns and cities in Maine, as pre-Census 2000 operations get into full swing nationwide. The workers will help verify the urban address list that the federal government will use to deliver census questionnaires, mainly by mail, in March 2000.

“This is part of a huge and important process in Maine,” said Arthur G. Dukakis, regional director for the U.S. Census Bureau in Boston, which oversees the address-listing operation in New England, upstate New York and Puerto Rico. “We’re hiring local people who know their areas of the state to work as address list verifiers. Then we’ll get the most accurate address list possible. That in turn means the best possible census next year.”

Census 2000 address verifiers can be identified by their red, white and blue badges with the words “Census Enumerator” in bold letters. Any questions about an address verifier’s identity can be answered by calling the local census office for verification.

Address list verifiers will canvass housing units throughout cities, towns and suburban areas of Maine from mid-March to early June, verifying the addresses of all housing units. Temporary address-verifying jobs, lasting six to eight weeks, still are available in upstate Maine. Applicants should be a U.S. citizen and 18 years or older. Pay ranges from $8.50 to $8.75 per hour plus mileage reimbursement. Employees will be paid for training time.

Population counts from the census are used for reapportionment of congressional seats and the distribution of billions of dollars annually to programs benefitting states and local communities. The U.S. Constitution mandates a federal census every 10 years.

Census 2000 will be America’s 22nd Decennial Census. The first census took place in 1790 under the direction of Vice President Thomas Jefferson.

For information about temporary jobs, call the Census Bureau toll-free at 1-888-325-7733. You can also contact the local census office 541-4973 or stop in at 100 Middle St., 7th Floor, Portland 04101.