CHENANGO COUNTY – The U.S. Census Bureau calling for 100-150 local employees to help ensure that every Chenango County resident is accounted for in the upcoming 2020 Census.

According to U.S. Census Bureau spokesperson Katherine Dillon, the agency relies on trusted locals who are 18-years and older, are a U.S. citizen, and can pass a background check to help with the national headcount. The agency's paying $17 per hour to part-timers and offering flexible hours.

“The goal is to hire people to work in the communities where they live,” said Dillon, speaking to representatives of the Chenango County Board of Supervisors last week. “That means we need people everywhere.”

Groundwork for the 2020 census is already underway. Last month, the agency started address canvasing, where workers check a master list of addresses of the country's 140 million households to make sure every resident is reached. People can expect a mail invitation to complete the census online starting in March. hard copy census forms will be mailed in April, and census workers will begin door-knocking in May.

The Census Bureau aims to have field work done by the end of next summer.