CEDAR LAKE | Police Chief Roger Patz hopes dispatching "mailmen" will help get town dog owners on the leash.

Patz told the Cedar Lake Town Council recently that he plans to have the Police Department's Volunteers in Police Service hand deliver fliers listing animal control regulations in an easy-to-read form.

"I think the personal approach might help us out," he said.

Last month, the council heard complaints that owners are not getting dog tags, have more than the permitted three dogs in one residence and generally ignore animal control regulations.

Also, Patz reported that the Lake County Animal Control bill for last year was $1,287, down from a high of $3,000 in 2006. He attributed that gradual reduction to requiring proof of residency. In the past, too many fees for rural dog owners with Cedar Lake addresses were billed to the town.

While going door to door, Patz said police volunteers can spread the word of the need to respond to the 2010 census.

Councilman Robert Carnahan, R-1st, who leads the town's census awareness campaign, received council approval to spend $434 for 5,000 door hangers with the 2010 census message. He said he'll try to obtain them in time for the police volunteers to distribute them.

Carnahan said residents should soon be receiving their 10-question U.S. Census Bureau form. For those with privacy concerns, he said the completed individual forms obtained cannot be accessed for 72 years.

Carnahan asked council members to spread word of the significance census data holds for the town. Each person not counted will cost the town $8,260 in lost state and federal dollars over the next 10 years.

"You're worth something," he said.