Conflicting postal rules keeps Johnson County community from receiving census forms

Iowa remains one of the top states nationwide in returning 2010 census forms mailed out last month.  But the Johnson County community of Hills isn't contributing to that record.  In fact, Hills Mayor Russ Bailey fears not a single person in the town of nearly 700 has even filled out a form yet.  That's because most didn't get the forms in the mail.

You won't find a mailbox anywhere you look in Hills-for a good reason.  All 355 households pick up mail from individual boxes at the town's post office.  There is no home delivery in Hills. While most Iowans got census forms a month ago, the postal worker in charge sent all the ones addressed to Hills residents back to the Census office as “undeliverable.”

Brian Shaull, a Hills resident, said he wondered what happened.  “It's a little weird, but I don't know, “ Shaull said.

Mindy Williams actually knows what happened-because she worked as a 2000 Census worker in Hills.  “The same thing happened (in 2000) and we had to go door to door,” Williams said.

There are signs on the wall of the post office explaining what happened and it really boils down to conflicting rules.  The Hills post office can't deliver mail without a box number on the address.  And the Census won't mail forms anywhere but an actual street address.  Rich Gerdes, Assistant Regional Census Manager in Kansas City, said that rule is in place because people may have a post office box outside the actual area where they live.  The Census is charged with counting people only at their place of residence.

Ironically, one Hills resident told TV9 he got a form in the mail offering Census employment.  It came addressed to his Hills P.O. Box number.  But he hasn't seen his actual Census form yet.

Mayor Bailey said Census workers will go door to door beginning in May.  But he's worried they'll miss lots of residents-who might duck what they fear is a door-to-door sales call.

“Definitely they will miss people because they will not answer their doors.  You've got an elderly population in town and the other thing too is I think people feel they're being singled out-where a lot of folks figure, yeah…I have no problem filling out a form and mailing it back…but I think it's a waste of funds to be going door to door and doing things like that,” Bailey said.

It costs the Census, and taxpayers, a minimum of $25.00 for a single home visit to follow up a non-mailed form.  If multiple visits are involved, the cost escalates to an average of $57.00.  But since the Census can't mail out forms to most with a Hills address, that's how residents there will have to stand up and be counted.

Incidentally, if you visit the web site www.2010Census.gov, you'll see the return rate for Hills is listed at 77%...eclipsing Iowa's current average of 70%.  But Assistant Regional Manager Gerdes admits that's extremely misleading.  The Census is only counting the small percentage of forms that actually got delivered and then returned from a Hills address.  The vast majority delivered in bulk came back blank-and aren't part of that tracking data.

By Dave Franzman, KCRG-TV