Postal officials perplexed by public’s ignorance of its plight

Friday, May 17, 2002 | 10:26 a.m.

What if a company that served nearly every American lost $1.5 billion last year and was projected to lose another $1.5 billion this year?

What if that company termed its future existence "uncertain" because it is operating on a 32-year-old plan that was developed long before today's computer technology and cut-rate competitors -- yet it cannot change that plan without an act of Congress?

One would think that people would turn out by the thousands at town hall meetings called by that entity to listen to solutions to save its vital service.

Three people showed up at the Clark County Library Thursday for a town hall meeting of the U.S. Postal Service, which has presented a transformation plan to Congress to save the system.

Actually, no one showed up to hear about the Postal Service's financial woes. Two people came to complain about a ZIP code snafu that caused a letter they sent to Ireland to be returned to them, and another man came looking for a mail carrier job.

"Many of us might not have jobs if this situation continues," Teresa Rudkin, spokeswoman for the Postal Service's regional office in Denver, said after the meeting was canceled for lack of interest. "This is an important issue and we have to continue to try to get our message out that we are in serious trouble."

Vic Fenimore, spokesman for the Postal Service in Southern Nevada, said he thought the reason so few people showed up was that "despite the problems we are having, the public doesn't see it because we are making sure the public is getting its mail on time."

He was surprised, however, that no one came to vent over the cost of first-class postage rising from 34 to 37 cents on June 30. Fenimore was ready to note that if first-class postage had risen at the rate of inflation since 1970, the cost of mailing a letter today would be 63 cents.

Rudkin and Fenimore said that while the 225-year-old Postal Service might not go out of business, it may have to become a government agency again, which would mean $15 billion in taxpayer money would have to go to support it. Since it became a quasi-government agency in 1970, the Postal Service has received no tax dollars to operate.

The reformation plan notes that the organization, which handles more than 200 billion pieces of mail a year, collects $66 billion in revenues and employs nearly 770,000 people, is teetering on failure.

"The future of the Postal Service is ... uncertain," the plan says. "For any organization to remain visible and flourish, it must change. As technology, commerce and society evolve, so too must government and corporate business models. This is no less true for the U.S. Postal Service than for any other enterprise."

Among other items, the service wants the ability to set postage prices without the current yearlong process.

"Since 1999 mail volume has decreased," Fenimore said. "The business plan established 32 years ago was based on volume always increasing. It also did not take into consideration potential future competition like e-mail."