JEFFERSON CITY — A statewide committee that aims to get out word about the 2010 census met today for the first time.

The buzz about the 2010 Census is that Missouri will probably lose a Congressional district, leaving the state with eight votes in the House of Representatives. But Missouri Demographer Matt Hesser said that isn’t necessarily so — the margin by which the state is projected to lose the seat is a mere 60,000 responses.

On top of that, federal dollars for the next ten years will get distributed based on census numbers. Hesser said the state loses about $1,000 per year per person the census misses.

Last census, Hesser said, the state had a 69 percent turnout, which is more than average, but leaves room for improvement.

That’s where the Complete Count Committee comes in. The committee, led by Director of Administration Kelvin Simmons, brainstormed ways to get all Missouri residents to take the census next April.

The crux of the plan is for local communities to be in charge of getting out the message, following a sort of grassroots model where local leaders push the census to their followers.

Members of the committee — mostly government officials and community organization members — threw out ideas such as tapping into Facebook.com to reach college students, and Simmons brought up the possibility of Tweeting. Assistant Regional Census Manager Craig Best brought out census-themed gear, including coffee mugs, pens and a bag.

One thing to look forward to next year: the new census won’t include the long questionnaire, so you’ll only have to fill out ten questions.

For more information about the local census bureau, see here. And for a copy of the 2010 census, see here.