Update, May 21:
Postmaster Louis DeJoy wrote a letter with an update responding to the 26 U.S. Senators who asked to pause USPS planned processing facility changes.
Included in the letter below is a list of planned changes, including the plan to move Reno's outgoing mail operations to Sacramento. According to the list, a decision has been made to proceed with this change, with the decision being made on April 23.
However, Reno is not included in lists of projects that are planned for 2024.
You can read the full letter below:
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Original Article, May 8:
26 U.S. Senators, including both of Nevada's Democratic lawmakers, want the USPS and its board to pause all planned changes at processing facilities nationwide, including in Reno.
The group of bipartisan senators wrote the letter, dated May 8, to Postal Service Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and the Board of Governors asking to study the potential impacts of these changes by requesting a comprehensive Advisory Opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission.
Two weeks ago, the USPS announced that it would move forward with a plan to move all of Reno's outgoing mail to Sacramento for processing.
Essentially, Reno's current processing and delivering center would remain open and be converted to a local processing center.
“USPS is moving forward swiftly with plans to consolidate and alter its facilities across the country, making irrevocable changes to its processing and delivery network which links all communities,” wrote the senators. “We are concerned about the impacts these changes have had so far, and the potential impacts that further changes could have.”
“In regions where USPS has implemented significant changes, on-time mail delivery has declined. In addition, it is not clear these changes will improve efficiency or costs,” they continued. “We call on USPS to pause all changes, pending a full study of this plan by its regulator.”
Previously, the USPS said that most of the mail they receive already leaves the local area.
The agency said in an earlier statement, "We currently sort that outgoing mail in Reno and then put it on a truck to Sacramento. With this change, we're simply taking out that expensive and inefficient first handling."
The Postal Service says that having the mail processed in Sacramento, it will save them about $3 million to $4 million in its first year.
Sens. Rosen and Cortez Masto along with Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei have already sent a letter to USPS opposing the move and have long spoken out against it.
Amodei say he met DeJoy at a House Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee (FSGG) roundtable earlier this week. He said in a statement:
“The Reno postal facility issue is far from resolved. Nevadans depend on reliable and expeditious mail service to pay their bills, receive medications, get their Social Security checks, and cast their ballots. Putting any of that at risk without total objective transparency is negligent and I will continue to do all that I can to delay, oppose, and reverse the mysterious decision to relocate mail processing operations from Reno to West Sacramento.”
Other opposition have come from Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo and the Washoe County Commission, which includes Reno.
You can read the new letter below -
