Stand Up and Be Counted!

A Census is Coming. It’s One More Way We Can Help

By Mark Trowbridge

Fall 2019

Welcome to Coral Gables Magazine’s Business Quarterly – an incredible opportunity for our Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce to showcase the local business community in the most authentic way, while highlighting the movers, shakers and deal makers in our City Beautiful.

Our vision for the past 94 years (we celebrate our anniversary on October 10) has centered on relevance, inclusiveness and integrity, the values that have propelled us to being ranked the second largest Chamber in all of South Florida, a recognition and honor we do not take for granted. Our Chamber is focused each day on building a robust business climate in Coral Gables alongside our partners, driven by a cadre of engaged members, well regarded businesses, and corporate leaders we all admire. It’s one reason our millage is so low and services so high, as our businesses contribute nearly 40 percent of the City’s tax base while doubling the size of our community from Monday through Friday when more than 50,000 people come to work (and spend) in the City Beautiful.

Beyond the work we do to help our businesses engage and grow is the way we tackle substantive issues that affect everyone, whether it be our advocacy efforts in Tallahassee and D.C., our newly launched Green Business Certification Program, our vigorous support of SMEs, or our long-standing Permitting Assistance Program. All have helped bring significant investment and talent to Coral Gables over the past decade. We are the leading voice for business in our community and this will be no different as we dive headfirst into 2020, when the U.S. Census will be in full gear, endeavoring to count every single person in the United States.

The decennial census is more than just a counting exercise, however; it is the catalyst for resource allocation, Congressional representation, and state and local business decisions that will be made over the next 10 years. In 2010, some believe that certain neighborhoods in Miami-Dade County may have been undercounted by as much as 30 percent. That equates to billions of dollars in resources that did not come back home, leaving us woefully underfunded for such essential programs as Medicaid, Title I, Pell Grants, transportation and infrastructure dollars, and more.

Florida is now the third largest state in the U.S., a milestone that has occurred since the last Census, and boasts a trillion-dollar economy that is driven significantly by the businesses in Miami-Dade County. A complete count next year will ensure that we receive our rightful share – dollars that help our schools, roads, seniors, employees, and families.

When you receive your census form in early 2020, be sure to complete it fully (by mail or online) and most importantly, encourage your colleagues, employees and their families to do the same. Never in the history of our great country has it been more important that we all stand up and be counted!

Until the next time…