Census Blasted For $85M 'Advance Letters'

INDIANAPOLIS -- A taxpayers rights group is blasting the 2010 Census over its growing budget, including millions spent to send letters to every household ahead of the actual census documents.

The National Taxpayers Union is upset over pre-mailings that went out this week, advising Hoosiers that census booklets will arrive in most mailboxes next week, 6News' Kara Kenney reported.

The letters cost $85 million to print and mail, while the census is already spending $133 million on advertising, including $2.5 million on Super Bowl ads and $1.2 million on a NASCAR sponsorship.

Census Bureau spokesman James Accurso said it's a matter of encouraging participation.

He said the agency will save $85 million for every 1 percent increase in the mail-back response. The advance letters are expected to increase census participation by 6 percent, saving as much as $500 million because fewer workers will have to go out and get the information, Accurso said.

As for the high-profile advertisements, Accurso said it's just another avenue to try and encourage Americans to take part.

"There's millions of people that do watch NASCAR races and participate and attend, and we do want to reach out to that population," he said.

The census cost $2.5 billion in 1990 and $4.5 billion in 2000. It's expected to cost of the 2010 Census is $14.7 billion, or about $48 a person.

"We think this is going to be a difficult census with people's mistrust of government and the biggest recession since the 1930s," said Amos Brown, who heads up the Indianapolis 2010 Census Complete Count Committee. "Come talk to me when the data comes back and we'll see how well Indiana is counted."

Most Hoosiers will receive their census forms next week.