Rural US Post Offices across the country, including 145 across Vermont, will have their hours cut as part of an effort to save the nation's mail service billions of dollars. The USPS, which announced this new proposal Wednesday, had considered closing many mailing centers as well, but widespread opposition to that and the outright closing of rural post offices forced it to come up with a different plan. In Cambridgeport (Windham County), McIndoe Falls (Caledonia County) and North Thetford (Orange County), the window will be open for only two hours a day. See complete Vermont list below.
The proposed plan would keep the existing post office in place, but with modified retail window hours to match customer use. Access to the retail lobby and to PO Boxes would remain unchanged, and the townâ s ZIP Code and community identity would be retained, according to a USPS statement.
â Meeting the needs of postal customers is, and will always be, a top priority. We continue to balance that by better aligning service options with customer demand and reducing the cost to serve,’said Postmaster General and CEO Patrick R. Donahoe. â With that said, weâ ve listened to our customers in rural America and weâ ve heard them loud and clear ‘they want to keep their Post Office open. We believe todayâ s announcement will serve our customers’needs and allow us to achieve real savings to help the Postal Service return to long-term financial stability.â
The new strategy would be implemented over a two-year, multi-phased approach and would not be completed until September 2014. Once implementation is completed, the Postal Service estimates savings of a half billion dollars annually.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who has led the effort in Congress to keep the offices open, said he welcomed Postmaster General Patrick Donahoeâ s decision to abandon plans to close 3,600 rural post offices, including 15 in Vermont, but voiced reservations about a new plan to cut hours of operation.
Sanders called on the House to pass a Postal Service reform bill that a bipartisan majority of senators approved on April 25.He said he is increasingly confident that many postal sorting facilities once slated for shutdowns will be spared, including one at White River Junction, Vt.
But he questioned aspects of Donahoeâ s new plan to cut hours of operation at 13,000 post offices, including 145 in Vermont.
â The good news is that all 15 rural post offices slated to be shut down in Vermont will remain open. The bad news is that dozens of post offices in Vermont and around the country will see their hours cut. I will continue to fight to keep as many of these post offices open for as long as possible,’Sanders said.
â While I have no doubt that some rural post offices could see hours cut, I am concerned about the impact of reduced hours on many communities. The truth is that reducing hours in rural post offices will not save significant amounts compared to the Postal Serviceâ s overall budget,’Sanders added.
The plan to cut post office hours comes at a time when Congress is working on legislation that would maintain mail delivery standards, keep postal facilities open and create a new business model for the Postal Service ‘all without any cost to taxpayers.
The Senate-passed bill addresses the major reason for the Postal Serviceâ s financial troubles ‘a $5.5 billion annual mandate to pre-fund 75 years of future retiree health benefits in just 10 years. This onerous requirement, unparalleled by any entity in the private sector or government, is responsible for more than 80 percent of the Postal Serviceâ s debt. Without that obligation, the Postal Service would have posted a profit of $700 million from 2007-2010, and a $200 million profit in the first quarter of this fiscal year. The Senate-passed bill also addresses the reality that the Postal Service overpaid $11 billion into the Federal Employees Retirement System.
The measure now awaiting action by the House also includes a Sanders provision to let the Postal Service become more entrepreneurial. He wants the Postal Service to explore new opportunities to increase business, such as expanding digital services, selling hunting and fishing licenses, making copies, notarizing documents, and cashing checks.
â The Postal Service does need a new business model in order to be successful in the 21stcentury. Rather than cutting services, Congress should lift restrictions so the Postal Service can become more entrepreneurial and earn new revenue,’Sanders said.
The USPS said the plan would better position the Postal Service to pursue vital and promising revenue opportunities and also achieve a cost reduction of $22.5 billion by the year 2016.
The Postal Service will provide an opportunity for the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) to review this plan prior to making any changes. The Postal Service intends to file a request for an advisory opinion on the plan with the PRC later this month. Community meetings would then be conducted to review options in greater detail. Communities will be notified by mail of the date, time and location of these meetings.
This new option complements existing alternatives, which include:
Providing mail delivery service to residents and businesses in the affected community by either rural carrier or highway contract route;
Contracting with a local business to create a Village Post Office; and
Offering service from a nearby Post Office.
A voluntary early retirement incentive for the nationâ s more than 21,000 non-executive postmasters was also announced. Since 2000, theworkforce has been reduced by more than 250,000 people without the use of layoffs.
Survey research conducted by the respected Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) in February, showed 54 percent of rural customers would prefer the new solution to maintain a local Post Office. Forty-six percent prefer one of the previously announced solutions (20% prefer Village Post Office, 15% prefer providing services at a nearby Post Office, 11% prefer expanded rural delivery). This strategy would enable a town to possibly have a Post Office with modified hours, as well as a Village Post Office.
The Postal Service has implemented a voluntary moratorium on all postal facility closings through May 15, 2012. No closings or changes to Post Office operations will occur until after that time.
In addition to maintaining a retail network of more than 31,000 Post Offices, the Postal Service also provides online access to postal products and services through usps.com and more than 70,000 alternate access locations. Nearly 40-percent of postal retail revenue comes from purchases onusps.comand through approved postal providers such as Wal-Mart, Staples, Office Depot, Walgreens, Samâ s Club, Costco, and many others.
Vermont Post Offices Hours to be reduced under proposed USPS plan (by Zip Code):
CURRENT PROPOSED
ZIP CODE POST OFFICE HOURS HOURS