March 23, 2020

The City of Ortonville will be closing the City Office, City Shop, Community Center and Public Rest Room to the PUBLIC effective at 8:00 A.M. March 24, 2020 until further notice.  City staff will remain working and can be contacted by calling 320-839-3428.  Utility bills will be collected at the local banks and at the City’s drive-up box.

Thank you to the Ortonville Kiwanis for agreeing to represent Ortonville as the Complete Count Committee (CCC)!  If you have questions, the core Kiwanis group assigned to this effort consists of Wanda Berry, John Thomas, and Vanessa Lhotka Meyer.  Vicki Oakes of the Ortonville EDA has been appointed as the liaison (point person connecting the CCC and the Census connection.)

Obtaining an accurate count – counting everyone! – is very important to our community!

The United States began conducting a census of population and housing in 1790.  The U. S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 2, mandates the apportionment of representatives among the states for the House of Representatives every 10 years.

Why is it important to count everyone?

• Population counts determine how the 435 U.S. House of Representatives seats are divided between the 50 states
• the distribution of federal funding to our states is determined by this population count – items such as
  • the SNAP program
  • public housing
  • WIC
  • Adoption Assistance
  • Link to Counting for Dollars 2020 Minnesota List

Privacy – The Census is Confidential and Required by Law!
Individual records from the decennial censuses are by law confidential for 72 years.
In addition, all Census Bureau employees swear a lifetime oath to protect respondent data.  It is a felony for any Census Bureau employee to disclose any confidential census information during or after employment, and the penalty for wrongful disclosure is up to 5 years imprisonment and/or a fine of $250,000.

Ways to Respond

LINK:  https://2020census.gov/en/ways-to-respond.html

• Online
• By phone
• By mail

Completing the Census takes about 10 minutes.

In mid-March, households will begin receiving official Census Bureau mail with detailed information on how to respond to the 2020 Census.

Great link for complete info:  Who to Count (LINK)

United States Census 2020 Website Link

The City of Ortonville water department is looking for volunteers to have their home water tested for lead and copper.  We need about 10-15 homes.  The criteria are that it has to be from a hard water faucet that gets used regularly/daily.  It has to have copper pipes and cannot be PVC or plastic.  Please contact the city office at 320-839-3428 if you would be willing to do this.

Road Construction. Utility bill payments can be dropped off at the City Office (there is two-way traffic on Third Street in front of the Police Department now) or you can drop them at Cenbank or Minnwest Bank.