From Jack Hendricks, Danville —

I’m glad to see your editorial on the census issue. You are exactly right, the law concerning population over 30,000 needs to be repealed asap.

There is no doubt Boyle will go over 30,000 population when the census is completed in 2020. What makes it almost a certainty, is another very questionable law within the census rules that most are not aware of.

According to conversations with the head of that department I had while I was magistrate: They must count everyone who lays their head down in Boyle County when they take the census, hospitals, homeless and anyone in our jail or Northpoint Training Center. The most significant is Northpoint.

If you recall during the last census in 2010, they had a riot and buildings were burned down, consequently they had to move over 3,000 inmates out to other prisons. Then the census was taken, after they were moved, reducing the population by over 3,000, all of those being in District 4, which was my district. Consequently due to that, an area had to be moved from one district to District 4 to keep the population levels as close to even as possible in each of our districts..

Now this sets the stage for what WILL happen in 2020. Those 3,000 have been moved back to Northpoint. Those 3,000 inmates will take the count in Boyle County over 30,000. Consequently the Boyle County Fiscal Court will have no choice but to consider a tax increase.

The only possible way to avert this is for everyone in Boyle County and anywhere else is a mass phone or mail campaign to our legislators urging them to repeal these ineffective laws and rules and it must be done in this upcoming session, if you choose not to speak up and help get this done, then expect a tax increase.