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Workers will be manning local streets this weekend, urging residents who haven't yet returned their 2010 U.S. Census forms to "march to the mailbox" before April 16.

Jim Tomasic, a local census worker, says canvassers will be posted at busy intersections in and around the city from 12 to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Filling out the form, which asks for the age, ethnicity and sex of each person who was living at a certain address on April 1, should take "three minutes" to complete for most residents, he says.

According to a spokesperson for the Census Bureau, the 2010 form is among the shortest in recent American history.

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The every-10-years national population count is required by the U.S. Constitution and has been performed since 1790.

All citizens are required by federal law to participate under threat of a $5,000 fine, but a bureau spokesperson says seeking criminal penalties is "a last resort."

Addresses that fail to complete and return the form can expect a visit from a census enumerator beginning May 1, but census officials hope to avoid making too many such visits. The bureau estimates that each unnecessary visit costs the taxpayer up to $60.

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Census numbers have a serious impact on a community's clout in both Harrisburg and Washington, affecting eligibility for grants, and representation in the state legislature and the U.S. House.

Since the Mon-Yough area has seen its population steadily decline since the late 1970s, local officials are urging full participation in the census in hopes that an accurate count will soften the hit they expect to take.

Citywide, about 64 percent of residents have returned their census forms already by mail. That's close to the national response rate of 65 percent.

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But responses vary widely by neighborhood. Only 42 percent of residents of the Third Ward --- home to the Harrison Village public housing complex --- have returned their forms already.

Responses have been higher in better-off neighborhoods such as Eden Park and Haler Heights, where 79 percent of forms have already been returned.

Other response rates as of Thursday included 56 percent along Versailles Avenue, 62 percent in Grandview and 68 percent in Christy Park.

In neighboring municipalities, census response rates range from 54 percent in Duquesne to 81 percent in Liberty Borough.

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Poorer residents often are reluctant to return their census forms, for fear their responses will be used to investigate them for crimes, including immigration or tax violations, or will be shown to their landlords.

But the census form does not ask about immigration status, and all answers are sealed by law for 72 years. According to the Census Bureau, no private citizen and no other government agency --- not even the Federal Bureau of Investigation --- may see someone's census form before then.

Census workers who release personal information from a census form are subject to a five-year prison sentence and a $250,000 fine.

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According to Tomasic, residents who lost or threw away their census form --- or who didn't receive one in the first place --- should call toll-free 1-888-872-6868.

Because the forms require a valid mailing address, no resident will be counted twice, according to the Census Bureau.

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