Postal Service: 11 percent of post office locations could be shut down

WASHINGTON — Two San Diego-area post offices could close early next year as part of a nationwide plan to shutter 3,700 locations as more customers turn to the Internet for postal needs and the agency struggles to meet costs, the Postal Service announced Tuesday.

One post office on the proposed chopping block— the Pala Vista Annex office—is in the district of Republican Congressman Darrell Issa, who has been a vocal critic of the agency for its inefficiencies. Issa, the chairman of the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which oversees the USPS, introduced a dramatic bill last month aimed at reforming the agency, which lost $8.5 billion last year.

“This is a proposed list, but I support the Postal Service’s process to evaluate which locations need to be closed and make a fair determination of which locations are surplus,” Issa said in a statement to the Union-Tribune.

The other, the Marine Corps Recruiting Depot office, is a prime candidate for closure under the agency’s definition of a low-activity location. It faces low foot traffic and revenue, and is staffed by a single employee who works fewer than eight hours each day, said USPS spokeswoman Eva Jackson. Additionally, the Depot location is directly across the street from San Diego’s main post office.

One in 10 of the agency’s 32,000 retail offices could close after the agency concludes studies of how well the offices meet customers’ needs.

The Marine recruit training facility has not been notified of the potential post office closure, said Depot spokeswoman Janice Hagar.

Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe said the agency is required to provide universal access to customers—and it wants to provide the service that will benefit across the board.

“It’s no secret that the Postal Service is looking to change the way we do a lot of things,” Donahoe said, “and it’s driven by a large part on what makes sense financially and what makes sense for our customers and the communities we support.”

The agency also unveiled plans for the “Village Post Office,” a possible replacement option that would imbed services such as flat-rate shipping and purchasing stamps in local businesses. Though not every shuttered post office will regenerate as a Village Post Office, as many 2,500 could result from the closures, officials said.

Dean Granholm, vice president of delivery and operations, said he expects the village service will be a “popular option” nationwide.

“Today’s announcement is a step in the right direction,” Issa said. “There are, however, many difficult decisions ahead that must be made to improve operations, reduce costs, and return the Postal Service to financial solvency.”

Issa agreed USPS should merge locations and also urged the agency to examine its employee payroll. The agency has 170,000 more people than needed to deliver mail, according to Issa, whose committee has studied USPS.

Donahoe said assessing the low-activity post offices has been in the pipeline for a while and did not stem from legislative pressure or Issa’s reform bill.

Meanwhile, a possible rival, UPS Inc.,has no immediate plan to move into rural areas that may lose USPS locations.”It’s definitely one we’re going to keep our eye on for the future,” said spokesman Norman Black. “We’re both a collaborator and a competitor with the Postal Service now.”

Closing retail locations are among the solutions to USPS’s financial challenges. Donahue wants the agency by 2015 to operate about $20 billion less than today.

Officials said the existing number of locations was not designed for the customers’ needs today. “If we had the chance,” Granholm said, “to wipe off that map and start from scratch, our retail network would look vastly different.”

The agency, which moves 40 percent of the world’s mail, is not funded by taxpayer dollars but is overseen by Congress.