Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, May 17, 2012

A new plan will cut hours at area post offices instead of closing the facilities, the United Postal Service has announced. The strategy would keep the nation's smallest post offices open for business while still achieving significant cost savings, according to the postal service.

Under the new plan, area post offices would all see their daily hours cut except for the post office in Mount Ayr.

Six area post offices will be open four hours a day instead of eight hours a day, but will remain open. These include Blockton, Clearfield, Diagonal, Ellston, Kellerton and Tingley. Post offices in Benton, Redding and Shannon City will see hours go from four hours a day to two hours a day.

The new strategy would keep an existing post office in place, but with modified window hours to match customer use.

Local management will strive to make access to the retail lobby and post office boxes when the window service hours are not offered. The new strategy complements existing alternatives which include providing mail delivery service to residents and businesses in affected communities by either rural carrier or highway contract route, contracting with local business to create village post offices and offering service from a nearby post office.

Under the plan, the Postal Service estimates a half-billion dollars in annual savings after implementation.

USPS has implemented a voluntary moratorium on all postal facility closings through May 15. The plan would be implemented over a two-year, multi-phased approach and would not be completed until September 2014.

Later this month USPS plans to seek an advisory opinion from the postal regulatory commission on the plan.

Community meetings would then be conducted to review options in greater detail. Under all alternatives, the town's zip code and community identity would be retained.

"We believe this announcement will serve our customers' needs and allow us to achieve real savings to help the Postal Service return to long-term financial stability," said postmaster general Pat Donahoe.

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, May of 2012