WATERTOWN, Wis. -- Incorrect information on some recently arrived U.S. Census forms has led to confusion in several Wisconsin municipalities.

The forms arrived this week to communities across south-central Wisconsin, but some Watertown residents in particular feel there's a case of mistaken identity.

The sign at the city limits says Watertown, but residents like Louise Baumgart are questioning if the federal government knows where they live after forms showed up with the wrong city listed.

"When I got the one yesterday, I saw Johnson Creek and I thought, 'This is not right!'" said Baumgart.

Forms for about two-thirds of the city that live in Jefferson County have the correct street address and ZIP code, but it lists Johnson Creek as the city.

"They went on TV and said mail them in, and other residents in my apartment didn't even notice that it said Johnson Creek (before they did)," she said.

Watertown Mayor Ron Krueger said city officials have received hundreds of phone calls, and the confusion led him to contact the U.S. Census Bureau. He said he was told things should be fine because the address was for the U.S. Postal Service and what matters to the U.S. Census is the GPS-related bar code.

"Because of a bar code and numbering system located on the form, this is what gives the spatial definition of where the residence is so that it will be counted correctly," Krueger said.

City officials are encouraging residents to fill out the form and send it back as is, knowing they'll keep an eye on the results.

"It is important that we have this count because we all know how vital it is to getting our share of federal tax dollars and things for schools and public government, so we need this to be accurate," said Krueger.

Baumgart said she's waiting for a corrected form she requested and is skeptical of the process.

"I suppose they can send it in if that's what City Hall is telling people, but if it turns out wrong, it might be hard to correct," said Baumgart.

A spokesman for the Census Bureau in Chicago said census workers are seeing this same problem elsewhere in the country, and it's a result of a cost-savings measure that streamlined how the mail was sorted and delivered by the Postal Service. He said that they are encouraging residents to return the forms because it only costs the government 42 cents to send the form back but can cost $57 to send a census taker to individuals' homes.

Besides Watertown, some residents in New Berlin and Pewaukee are reporting their Census forms have the wrong city printed on them as well. The mayor of New Berlin said he agrees with Watertown officials in urging people to fill out the forms regardless because the form's bar code is accurate.