2020 Tewksbury Town Census Now Underway

TEWKSBURY, MA — The 2020 annual Tewksbury census is underway, the Town Clerk reminded residents in an announcement Monday. The census is due within 10 days, and is required to retain "active voter" status. The annual town census is also used by the town when applying for state and federal grants and to project school enrollment, among other things.

This is not the only census going on this year: the decennial national census will also be underway soon. The town has tips for verifying census takers. But town census forms have already been mailed out, while the federal census doesn't begin in the area for several months.

"Your cooperation in returning the census as soon as possible will prevent us from having to do another costly mailing," Town Clerk Denise Graffeo wrote. "If you are a new resident or if you do not receive a census form, please notify the Town Clerk’s Office by phone at 978-640-4355 or by e-mail at townclerk@tewksbury-ma.gov."

A dog registration form is attached to the census form, Graffeo noted. All dogs over six months old must be registered annually.

Graffeo listed a number of purposes the town census serves:

• "The Census provides information to assure that the town receives its’ fair share of state and federal funds and grants.
• It is also used for calculating veterans’ benefits, housing for the elderly and other related veterans’ and elderly benefits.
• The census information serves to provide: proof of residency to protect voting rights and to maintain the voting list, preventing needless delays at your voting precinct. Any previously registered voter who has not returned their Annual Census for two consecutive years will be added to the Inactive Voters List and therefore, by law, will be required to fill out an Affirmation of Current and Continuous Residence form and provide identification to prove continuous residency in the Town of Tewksbury.
• The school census provides projection for future enrollments and related benefits which allows school administrators to apply for additional state and federal funds and grants.
• Allows college students to apply for lower tuition at all Massachusetts State Colleges and provides proof of residence. By law we can only certify that you live in Tewksbury if you are listed in the census records. Owning property is not used for proof of residency."

The 2019 town census showed the town had a population of 30,417, a decline of 18 from 2018.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.