The greater the number of Bryan County residents who respond to the 2010 Census, the better the chance the county will receive a larger portion of funding from the state.

This was the message Lauren Lewis of the Census Bureau conveyed to the Bryan County Board of Commissioners at a regular commission meeting held Sept. 1.

Lewis said the federal government will take census figures into account when distributing more than $300,000 billion to state governments. In turn, states will distribute those monies to their counties, she said.

"It’s a considerable amount of money," Lewis said. "The backbone of this is, truly, the Census."

Census data helps guide state and local officials when deciding on where to build roads and schools, and can help developers decide where stores and homes should be located according to population growth.

Lewis said Bryan County residents responded well to the 2000 Census, the last census taken.

Read more in the Bryan County News.