Six post offices in Richmond and Henrico could be closed

By: WESLEY P. HESTER TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER | Times-Dispatch
Published: August 04, 2009

Six Richmond-area post office branches and as many as 1,000 across the U.S. could be closed because of the Postal Service's financial woes.

The local branches -- in Richmond and Henrico County -- are among 19 in Virginia that may be shuttered. They are included on a list of nearly 700 candidates sent to the independent Postal Regulatory Commission for review.

"We're not reviewing post office closings -- these are stations and branches and we're looking at the possibility of consolidating them," said Cathy Boulé, the Postal Service's district communications coordinator in Richmond.

Boulé said mail volume for the Richmond district over the past year is down 16 percent from the previous year. Revenue is down $14 million in the district for the same period.

Five offices in Roanoke, two in Virginia Beach, two in Hampton, and one each in Fredericksburg, Newport News, Norfolk and Chesapeake are the other Virginia locations that could be closed. But the Postal Service says more may be added.

In all, 1,000 post office branches may be closed as the Postal Service struggles with a sharp decline in mail volume as people and businesses switch to e-mail for personal contact and the Web for bill paying. There are 32,741 post offices across the country.

The agency is facing a nearly $7 billion potential loss this fiscal year, despite a 2-cent increase in the price of stamps in May, cuts in staff and removal of collection boxes.

"We're looking at a lot of different factors -- impact on employees, impact on service standards, customer access," Boulé said, adding that community meetings and customer surveys will be part of the process.

"What we've found also is that almost 30 percent of our retail operations are done though alternate access, on the Internet, through automated postal centers. People can buy stamps at Ukrop's and Kroger now," she added.

No changes are expected before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.

In addition, Postmaster General John E. Potter has asked Congress for permission to reduce mail deliveries from six days a week to five.

Last year, mail volume fell by 9.5 billion pieces to a total of 203 billion pieces. It is expected to fall by 28 billion pieces this year to a total of 175 billion pieces.

Contact Wesley P. Hester at (804) 649-6976 or whester@timesdispatch.com.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.