& Albany County Post - The Altamont Enterprise

The Altamont Enterprise – Thursday, May 17, 2012 7—Graphic by Rich Mendoza based on photo by Saranac Hale SpencerThe United States Postal Service last week announced plans to reduce hours at rural post offices by September 2014, including the local offices listed above.Postal Service offers reprieve for some offices at a cost to othersBy Tyler MurphyCLARKSVILLE –– The UnitedStates Postal Service announcedlast week it had reconsideredplans to close 3,700 post officesnationwide and will instead reducehours at as many as 13,000rural post offices, in an attemptto save half a billion dollars annually.The service also reported a netloss of $3.2 billion between Januaryand April, a billion dollarsmore than what was lost duringthat same second-quarter periodlast year.“We heard quite loud and clearfor a postal presence to remainin rural communities,” saidU.S. Postal spokesman DennisTarmey.Tarmey said the post officehad seen a 25 percent drop inmail volume since 2006, whenit shipped 213 billion pieces ofmail as opposed to the 157 billonpieces delivered in 2011.The review and possible closureof 3,700 locations wasannounced last year as maildelivery continued to drop andemployee costs climbed. Tarmeysaid some offices on that list of3,700 would still have to closebut a number of others wouldhave their hours reduced instead.“There’s still thousands activelybeing looked at for closure,” saidTarmey.One of the offices reprievedfrom closure is in Clarksville, inrural New Scotland. The localoffice will have its daily hoursreduced to four hours a day.Tarmey said details on theavailable hours would be announcedsometime after LaborDay. He explained post officeslocated more than 25 miles awayfrom an alternative office wouldhave their hours reduced to noless than six hours. Clarksville’soffice is about five miles awayfrom the nearest alternative inFeura Bush.The postal service beganreconsidering its closure ofthe Clarksvillebranch in Januaryafter thePostal RegulatoryCommissiondecidedthe service didnot sufficientlyconsider the effectsof closingthe location.The decisionwas in responseto a petitionfiled by Clarksvillelawyer PeterHenner andon behalf of 30other residentsand six businesses.Hennerdepends on thelocal post officefor his Clarksvillelaw practice,he said.The AlbanyCounty Sheriff’sOffice alsofiled a noticeof interventionto oppose theclosure, sinceit is planningto move intothe now-vacantClarksville Elementary Schoolbuilding. The sheriff’s office saidthat it would need a functioningpost office for certified letters,packages, and mailing bulkymaterials, according to the Jan.19 order from the Postal RegulatoryCommission.This week Henner said theproposed cut in hours was betterthan the proposed closure butstill objected to how the postalservice was handling the issue.Henner said the post office may“On a more fundamental basis,there are certain services the government needsto provide as part of a modern society.When mass transit or highways lose money,we don’t close down the roads orpublic transportation to save money–– of course not.”have to schedule a public hearingand follow other establishedregulations before taking suchaction. He expressed concernthat, if unchecked, the postalservice could exert pressure onsome locations it wished to closeby severely restricting the hoursof operation instead.“There is a whole procedurefor closing a post office; beforethat happens, you have to havea public hearing. We never hadone in Clarksville. Now they’rec h a n g i n g i tand saying,‘We want to reducepost officehours aroundthe country.’ Isit by regulationor did theyjust decide ona new nationalpolicy?” askedHenner.Henner saidt h e i n i t i a lproposed savingsof about$26,000 to closethe Clarkvillessite was a smalland misleadingnumber releasedby thePostal Service.“Twenty-sixthousanddollarsisn’t toomuch moneybut it isn’t evena real number.It doesn’t includethe lostrevenue frombox rentals orthe extra costof rural delivery,”he said.Henner also challenged thelarger perception of cutting ruralpost offices across the nationand the expectation of the mailservice being financially selfsufficient.“On a more fundamental basis,there are certain services thegovernment needs to provide aspart of a modern society. Whenmass transit or highways losemoney, we don’t close down theroads or public transportationto save money –– of course not,we need to subsidize things likehighways, most roads don’t havetolls; they’re free. It’s a falsehoodto assume the mail service hasto operate on a for-profit basis,”he said.Though the Clarksville post officemay be saved under the newpostal plan, the post offices in thetown of Berne, which were notunder consideration for closure,will now have reduced windowhours.Both offices in Berne and EastBerne will go from eight to sixhours of daily operation underthe proposed plan.“It’s not the worst thing thefederal government has comeup with,” said Berne SupervisorKevin Crosier.“Obviously, we all have torealize, like everything else ingovernment, we have to changethe way we do business to stay inbusiness. To change a few hoursin Berne to keep another ruraloffice open, like in Clarksville,is a sacrifice but that’s what weneed to do,” he said.Crosier said the benefits ofanother community maintainingits post office outweighted theinconvenience of fewer hours atanother location.“From a municipal managementstandpoint, it makes goodsense,” said Crosier. “Now, if theyreduce hours and decide to startclosing them again, that’ll be aharder pill to swallow.”TOWN OF BERNE TO HOST HOUSHOLDHAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION DAYFor residents of:Berne, Knox, Westerlo & RensselaervilleJune 2, 20129:00 am to 2:00 pmat the Town of Berne Highway Garage1811 Helderberg Tr., BerneObtain special permit from Town Clerk. Quality Home Heating OilDue to current market conditions, please call for price.We accept HEAP Stayapprised.ReadThe Enterprise.