Census Bureau geographer Craig Best keeps it simple when trying to convince local governments to help him ensure that the 2010 Census population count is accurate.

“It is only about power and money,” Best told audience members at the Kansas Data Center’s annual meeting this week in Topeka. “If you have all the power and money you need, then there’s no need to worry about the count.”

But Best and other Census leaders are betting that most communities could use a little more of both. That’s why the Census Bureau is giving cities and counties across the country a chance to look over the bureau’s shoulder, so to speak.

Best said the Census Bureau earlier this year sent letters to governments across the state asking them to participate in a program that allows governments to check the mailing lists that the bureau will use when sending questionnaires as part of the counting process.

The counts are important because the Census is used to determine how many seats a state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives, and population figures are used in formulas that distribute about $300 billion in federal grant money, according to the Census Bureau.

Checking the Census Bureau’s mailing list sounds simple enough, but Best said there are many cities that don’t because the task is time consuming. For example, in a city the size of Lawrence, the Census Bureau would be delivering a list of 40,000 addresses to review.

Lawrence City Manager David Corliss said Lawrence officials would be taking the time to review the Census’ addresses. The city last year went through an appeals process to convince the Census Bureau to revise the city’s annual population estimate upward.

“We’re going to be very active,” Corliss said. “We have a lot of infrastructure projects that we’re undertaking because we’re growing. The Census numbers are very important to us.”

Regardless of whether a community decides to participate in the address verification program, Best said the Census is going to be doing extensive field checks throughout 2009.

“We’re going to be physically knocking on everyone’s door,” Best said.

The effort is nationwide, meaning that theoretically every residential door in America will be knocked on by a Census worker. Best said the 2009 efforts aren’t part of the actual counting process, but are an attempt to make sure the bureau has the right mailing address.

The actual Census forms that will be used as part of the counting process will be mailed in 2010. That process will require the hiring of about 500,000 workers.