People trying to sign up to comment on the latest U.S. Postal Service proposal that would impact rural delivery in much of Wyoming are finding themselves shut out after a barely publicized deadline to register for Thursday’s virtual meeting passed.
The U.S. Postal Service had announced it won’t hold a second in-person forum for people to comment on its latest plan to cut $3 billion in costs, in part by sacrificing rural mail delivery.
“There will be one virtual conference,” USPS spokeswoman Alexandra (Ali) Reams told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday. “Consistent with our notice on usps.com, registration closed at noon on Sept. 3.”
It was not clear exactly which notice Reams was referring to, and Wyoming residents trying to sign up Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday to speak during the meeting are angry at being shut out.
An Aug. 22 media release published by USPS about the forum at its online newsroom does not mention a deadline of noon Sept. 3 to register for the virtual conference, which is to be held at 11 a.m. Mountain Time on Thursday on Zoom.
Public notices also were not sent to Cowboy State Daily prior to the meeting. The Aug. 22 release from USPS about the forum was something Cowboy State Daily discovered itself, in part thanks to a reader tip.
Ream did not respond to Cowboy State Daily’s question asking how people were to know about the deadline to register for the forum, given that no notices were sent out directly to statewide media organizations, and the one press release available at the USPS online “newsroom” also does not mention the deadline.
Dozens of Wyomingites reported to Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday that they’ve been trying to register for the forum, only to find that it closed.
Ream also did not respond to a question asking if there’s any alternative means of commenting on the proposal.
Latest Plan Will Likely Slow Rural Mail Services
The meeting is being held to outline the newest proposal from USPS.
As outlined in a regulatory filing with the Postal Regulatory Commission, the proposal is part of an overall transformation of the postal service that USPS officials say is necessary to significantly reduce costs and enhance service.
The new proposal includes eliminating some routes to “improve efficiency and velocity of the processing network,” the regulatory filing states. It will also include consolidation of drop-off and pick-up points for mail in certain areas.
Areas that are more than 50 miles from a large processing center will be designated for “regional transportation optimization” under this plan, meaning they could require an extra day of delivery time.
The USPS request to increase on-time delivery standards dovetails with its regional optimization effort, which the filing states will be “more operationally precise and specific for customers,” and allow upgrades in service for a “majority of the volume” of mail that the Postal Service delivers.
It was not clear from the regulatory filing exactly how the service will be upgraded if the new delivery standards are longer than they used to be.
The existing delivery standard now is two days for local mail, and between three and five days for farther distances.
Under the new plan, USPS claims most mail will move more quickly than before, its move to lengthen on-time delivery standards that could add an extra day to rural mail delivery.
USPS has also highlighted that rural mail service will not be altogether cut, even if it’s slower than before.
Specifics Not Forthcoming
Cowboy State Daily has requested more specifics on the latest USPS plan as it will relate to Wyoming. So far, no answers have been forthcoming, despite the request having been made more than a week ago.
This new proposal follows on a previous Delivering for America plan, under which all of the Cowboy State’s large processing facilities would move out of the state and be placed in Colorado and Montana.
That plan is not necessarily off the table. It’s on hold until January 2025.
Among questions Cowboy State Daily has asked is whether the Delivering For America plan means all of Wyoming would effectively become a rural mail delivery area. None of Wyoming’s towns are within 50 miles of either Denver or Billings, which is where Cheyenne and Casper’s large processing functions would move to.
Causing A Huge Outcry In Wyoming
Delivering for America met with a huge outcry from residents in Wyoming who rely on rural mail service for life-saving medications, Social Security and payroll checks, bills and other correspondence.
Wyoming’s congressional delegation has also been united in its opposition to the Delivering for American plan. The delegation joined to propose legislation that would prohibit removing all of a state’s large processing centers. That legislation did not advance.
Postmaster Louis DeJoy has insisted that the changes he proposes are vital to saving the Postal Service and making it financially self-sufficient.
The USPS has lost $87 billion, DeJoy told Congress and the Postal Regulatory Commission, and suggested that is because the services have not evolved and changed with the times.
Single-piece first-class mail volume has declined 80%, according to Dejoy, while its package business has grown. But its services are still revolving around single-piece mail.
“Our 10-year Delivering for America plan is transforming our network to better reflect today’s standards,” he said in a media statement. “This revamped integrated network designed for a more unified, logically sequenced movement of mail and packages, combined with modifications to our service standards, will enable us to operate more efficiently and reliably grow our business and give us a chance for a viable future.”
The meeting DeJoy is holding Thursday is just first step in an overall process that the USPS must follow to request changes to its delivery standards from the Postal Regulatory Commission.
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
