Sailors Get Added Duty--Assisting in Census Count

A group of sailors at North Island Naval Air Station has been sworn in to help compile census data on the number of active-duty military personnel countywide.

The 150 sailors are the first military counters enlisted to help tally personnel stationed in the county as part of the 1990 U.S. Census.

About 700 more sailors and Marines from other bases in the county will join in the military count, scheduled for the last week of March and the first week of April.

North Island’s administrative officer, Lt. Marcia Van Wye, told the group sworn in Wednesday that they must perform their regular duties in addition to the census chores.

“We already work for a federal agency, and you cannot receive paychecks from two separate government agencies,” Van Wye told the group.

Results of the military part of the census probably will benefit the civilian community more than the military because results could mean more federal money and congressional representation, Census Bureau spokesman Dan Conway said.

“The House Congressional Research Service predicts that California will gain five or more seats in the House of Representatives,” which is reapportioned every 10 years based on census data, Conway said.

The federal government allocated $38 billion to cities and counties in 1988 based on census data, he added.

“In San Diego, that means for every person missed, $150 will be lost by city or county government per year over the next 10 years,” Conway said. “It’s big money.”

The Census Bureau’s regional office in San Diego will process the count for California and three other Western states. Officials still are seeking part- and full-time civilian workers, who can earn up to $20 an hour, to help in the count, Conway said.