Blowing off the census could mean fewer federal dollars for Brookfield, so a group of residents is dedicated to getting all their neighbors on board.

The Brookfield Census Committee wants residents to be counted in 2010 census, and will hold its next meeting at 7 p.m. Nov. 4 at the Village Hall, 8820 Brookfield Ave.

At a meeting Oct. 20, committee members offered ideas to get residents involved in the census process, including having a table at the Farmers Market, speaking at local Lions and Rotary Club meetings, and having a Census Day at area schools, where students would learn about the census and relay the information to parents.

“For schools, it is a history lesson,” said Nina Nowaczyck, a representative from the U.S. Census Bureau. “George Washington ordered the first census in 1790, and we’ve been doing it every 10 years since.”

The census consists of 10 questions and is expected to take 10 minutes, she said.

“The reason it is so important for Brookfield is that it’s money,” Nowaczyck said. “On grants for road projects, senior projects, the organizations will ask for your population count. If you want a new program for seniors, the organization offering the grant will want to know how many seniors you have.”

The census also determines each state’s number of representatives in the House of Representatives. In 2000, based on the census results, California and Florida each gained a representative and Illinois lost one, Nowaczyck said.

Resident Matthew Sinde Jr., a Riverside  Brookfield High School Township District 208 Board of Education member, suggested getting local attention through the Internet.

“We could put something up on the RB Web site, or go on Channel 6 or put something in The Brookfielder (newsletter) to let people know that the census is coming,” Sinde said.

One concern of the committee was reaching out to ethnic populations in the village.

“Brookfield has a Hispanic population, and the census form comes to everyone’s home written in both Spanish and English,” Nowaczyck said. “The form itself comes in five languages, and we have a directional form that comes in 59 languages.”

One resident suggested reaching out to residents at local restaurants.

“We have Polish, Thai and Mexican restaurants,” said resident Jane Huber. “They speak the language. We could have them hold a census night where people could get information about the census.”

One concern some residents has concerns their immigration status — that the immigration services department will get their information from the census, Nowaczyck said.

“What people need to remember is that we are counting residents, not citizens,” she said. “We are also the only federal agency who cannot give our information out to another agency, so we can’t give it to the FBI or INS.”