(Photo by Zachary Meseck)

CHENANGO COUNTY - Governor Andrew Cuomo is asking that New York State residents reach out to 10 people and remind them to fill out their census, as census week comes to an end and areas like Chenango County fall behind in response rates.

According to Chenango County Planning Department Director Shane Butler, as of Wednesday, Chenango’s response rate has fallen to the 41st ranked county out of the 62 counties in New York State.

Butler said Chenango County is at approximately 54 percent for overall response for the census, and that the area could miss out on vital funding if that number doesn’t increase.

He said that the response rate in 2010 was 58.1 percent. The better represented Chenango County is in the census, the more help the area could receive with county-wide programing, he said.

“The census also impacts schools because funding for our schools is based on census data, among other things,” he said.