St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley will officially kick off the 2010 Census on Monday, as the counting forms begin to arrive in area mailboxes.

Slay and Dooley are to headline a news conference promoting the census Monday morning outside St. Louis City Hall.

They are to be joined by James Buford, president of the St. Louis Urban League, and Anna Crosslin, president of the International Institute.

The event also will showcase a super-sized version of the actual 2010 Census questionnaire that officials say is 20 feet high, 16.5 feet wide, and 4 feet deep.

The version that shows up in residents' mailboxes will be a lot smaller, but has more riding on it. That's why public officials are so keen to enlist the public's cooperation in filling out the form's 10 questions.  

As the national census office points out:

"Census data is used to allocate the 435 seats in Congress and directly affects how more than $400 billion per year in federal funding is distributed to state and local governments and non-profit organizations serving their communities."

Cities' populations -- which have higher percentages of low-income people, minorities and immigrants -- often have been undercounted during the census. Among other things, officials cite the suspicion that such groups, especially immigrants, often have of government in general, and such questionnaires in particular.

For those reasons, among others, local elected officials and civic leaders are encouraging area residents to fill out their census forms immediately and send them back.

Meanwhile, officials report that hiring is still underway for census counters who will do door-to-door visits during the counting period, which is primarily this spring.

On Wed., March 17, the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis is hosting a 2010 Census Roundtable with U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Dennis F. Hightower. The event starts at at 10:30 a.m. and is being held at the league's office at 3701 Grandel Square.