Maria Schneider’s acclaimed classical composition Winter Morning Walks began with a scrap of poetry, which reached her ears before she encountered it on the page.

2010 Census statistics show most children under age 5 that weren’t counted live in what’s called “hard to count” areas.  Experts say these are generally majority minority, low poverty municipalities.

“I can say that my wife and I are taking it so seriously, that since the last census count, we’ve had three children,” said Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh, who jokes about it but understands that his city has one of the largest populations of undercounted children in New Jersey.  That’s why Paterson created a Complete Count Committee.

During his first State of the State speech earlier this week, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy highlighted his administration’s recent audit of the state’s tax break program.

He criticized lax oversight at the Economic Development Authority and said the money could have been better spent elsewhere.

More than just bashing enforcement of the incentives, Murphy criticized the law itself.

“The audit revealed bad policy, badly run, a program more likely to have been drawn-up in a smoke-filled back room than created for New Jersey’s future,” he said Tuesday.