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A committee dedicated to getting local residents registered for the US Census wants to make sure all properties registered for the census, including seasonal properties.

According to the Chautauqua County Complete Count Committee, 55.2% of Chautauqua County properties have registered for the US Census.

That compares with 57.3% statewide and 61.8% nationally. The committee’s regional partners are the both county United Ways, the Northern Chautauqua County Community Foundation, the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library system, the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, Chautauqua County government, the Census Bureau and Prevention Works.

According to the committee, the best municipality for self-response is Kiantone at 75.1%, followed by the village of Westfield at 70.6%. Municipalities that ranged between 60 and 70% include Arkwright (61.2), Busti (62.1), Carroll (60.5), Clymer, (66.7), Dunkirk town (61.9), Ellicott (66), Falconer (62.6), Fredonia (62.7), Harmony (61.6), Lakewood (61.7), Poland (65.1), Pomfret (61.8), Sheridan (68.6), and the town of Westfield (61.6).

Brocton, Cassadaga, Celoron, Charlotte, Dunkirk city, Ellington, Gerry, Hanover, Jamestown, Mayville, Panama, Portland, Ripley, Sherman, Silver Creek, Stockton and Villenova all were between 50 and 60% response.

Municipalities with less than 50 percent response include Sinclairville (47.3), Cherry Creek (47), French Creek (42.6), North Harmony (40.7), Ellery (39.4), Mina (34.9), Chautauqua town (28.5), and Bemus Point (20.6).

Committee member Adam Dolce, who is also the executive director of the United Way of Northern Chautauqua County, said in an email, some of the lower responses may be because there are many homes in those communities that aren’t primary residences. “We suspect that the areas in our county that are severely undercounted are due to seasonal/summer homes,” he said. “Although those homes will not count in our census, having the household respond will increase our self response rate and help ensure an accurate count.”

According to the US Census, individuals who live in multiple places throughout the year should count themselves at the address where they live and sleep most of the time. “If you split your time evenly between two or more places, count yourself where you were staying on April 1, 2020. However a census response is required for each and every property.”

The Census wants individuals who own property but only use part of the time to go to www.my2020census.gov and do the following:

¯ Enter the Census ID or address for this secondary property

¯ Enter “0” for the number of people living at this property

¯ Hit Next, and when a “soft error” occurs, click Next again

¯ Select “No” when asked to confirm no person lives at this property

¯ Select primary reason – Seasonal (most likely)

¯ Complete!

“Following these instructions ensures all properties are counted,” the Census states on its website.