County's census efforts abruptly changed
Hays County lost an important asset to its complete count efforts this month. Census Program Coordinator Jessica Mejia dedicated 20 hours each week after clocking out of her full time job to conduct census outreach with hard-to-count communities. She still is unclear as to whether she was fired or laid off.
Mejia had been fueling complete count efforts from her home since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic like many county employees. She spoke on radio public service announcements across the county, organized children’s writing and art contests, handed out flyers and materials at school lunch pickups and organized other direct outreach activities.
After months on the job, Mejia was called to update her supervisor Tammy Crumley on her work so far in a meeting on May 4. In that meeting, after providing an update, she was instead told that the position was being phased out; that she was not being terminated, she was rehireable and the funds would be used for marketing and social media efforts instead. However as the situation unfolded, she came home to a notice from human resources that the position would end May 12, just eight days later.
“After being isolated for so long, I was so happy to see people and be able to share all this information,” Mejia said. “(Crumley) said that it was discussed during executive session that the position would be fading out and I would have a couple weeks to finalize everything. They didn’t give me two weeks.”
After an emotional letter from Mejia was read during the Hays County Commissioners Court meeting on May 12, Commissioner Walt Smith said that there was a decision in the executive session that the direction of the position was shifting.
“There was a commitment by one member of this court to notify Mejia of our decision," Smith said. "Fast forward to one week later when HR and her supervisor sat down Ms. Mejia for that conversation, that conversation never happened. That same individual who committed to having that conversation said ‘let’s fire her then.’”
County Judge Ruben Becerra stated he was the individual who suggested firing her based on the direction of group discussions, which led to the HR department initiating termination proceedings with Mejia, although he “did not mean it directly.” The court and Crumley had the understanding that Becerra would give the initial notification of the decision.
It seemed there was some confusion in the executive session between Becerra’s direction to Crumley and HR to terminate Mejia, and some supported suggestions from Smith to keep her on at an hourly basis for the remainder of the count.
Becerra maintains, although he suggested firing her, that it was not a done deal. The co-chairs of the county's complete count committee, Becerra and Precinct 1 Commissioner Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe, should have conducted some performance evaluation, and there needed to be a vote for termination.
Despite the action by HR, General Counsel Mark Kennedy maintains, “There was no action at this court that was taken. There was no termination that occurred.”
Mejia believes she was terminated for concerns that she was focusing on hard-to-count communities, a function for which the position was advocated. Mejia said, “I’m really confused with it all. No one told me anything. I was blindsided. In a pandemic they need to be more sensitive.”
In the letter to the court that was read on May 12, Mejia wrote, “So all of this seems unethical and unjust. I certainly hope it is not because I was helping get poor people counted.”
On Jan. 7, when the position was established in court, Anita Collins, Becerra's executive assistant, explained the need for hiring a coordinator was founded in getting a complete count, “This is a map of hard-to-count areas from 2010. You can see the hardest to count areas are the southeastern portion ... 25% of the county’s population live in the hard to count areas," Collin said. "If we don’t count this 25%, it would mean a loss of over $78 million annually for 10 years. It's time for someone to take this very important job as their full focus.”
During the meeting where Mejia was notified of the position ending, she shared why she believed her termination was related to her hard-to-count outreach.
“Tammy said ‘Walt Smith has concerns about you not reaching out to all the areas,’” Mejia said. She was also challenged about what communities she would be reaching with the books she was printing.
Mejia alleged during commissioners court on May 19: “Tammy did mention your name (Smith) three different times in that conversation. She said, ‘Walt and Lon were concerned.’ I don’t know what all those concerns were. My job description said focus on hard-to-count areas. That’s what I hope that this position would continue to do. It wasn’t in my job description to work for other areas, but I worked for those communities. I went to the county library in Kyle and did the Wimberley Valley radio station PSA.”
The county did not give further comment on the matter, stating is it not customary to comment on human resources matters.
Hays County so far is at a 53.6% self response rate, and San Marcos has the lowest self response rate at 41.1%. Kyle has a 61.8% self response rate so far, and Wimberley 52.9%, Buda 68.9%.
Mejia’s strategy for outreach featured a focus on children because she knew they would bring home the information to their parents. She ordered thousands of storybooks and organized various contests through the public library. She handed out books and brochures at the locations where school meals were being handed out.
Alyssa Garza, community outreach coordinator for Mano Amiga and an active census outreach volunteer, said, “With so many hard to count populations, it makes sense to me to have someone devoted to just that. The entire state is taking such a big financial hit because of COVID-19, it's critical right now more than ever that we have a complete count to ensure we get all our funding. It's important to have someone that the community trusts like Jessica. No longer having her as the point of contact will not help the situation.”
San Marcos, already hard to count, may be even harder during a pandemic. University students are hard to count normally and right now they are harder to reach while they are away from campus.
“In Texas, we aren't even getting close to the money we should be getting. The ideal number to at least capture a decent amount of population is 80%,” Garza said. Hays County clocked in at 67.5% in the 2010 Census.
Garza believes that as residents begin to emerge after COVID-19 restrictions are eased, counting will become easier.
“We know direct outreach is most effective,” Garza said. “It requires one to one or small group interaction to dispel misinformation and explain why it matters.”
The loss of Mejia means a pivot of county resources to social media and marketing campaigns. This shift of focus at the county comes at the same time as the 2020 Census field operations resume in Hays County this week.
