The Bellevue City Council on Monday threw its support behind a “Complete Count” Committee formed to raise awareness among residents of the safety, ease and importance of the 2010 census.

In March, the U.S. Census Bureau will send a questionnaire to every household in the country for its 10-year tally of people who live in the United States. Almost 30 percent of Bellevue’s residents are foreign-born and may have difficulty with or be leery about responding.

If the city’s population is undercounted, it could cost Bellevue millions over the next 10 years in federal and state grants, and mean less representation for the city in the federal and state government. In addition, the picture of Bellevue captured by the census would be incomplete.

The Complete Count Committee, to include city staff as well as community leaders, will work with the Census Bureau to make sure people are comfortable filling out the Census form.

In the coming months, the committee will reach out to neighborhood, cultural and faith-based groups to deliver the message to hard-to-reach populations that the census is easy and that information about individuals or individual families will be confidential.