More changes made at the Post Offices
Muncy and Hughesville Post Offices are experiencing some personnel shifts but see no real loss in mail volume yet according to Muncy Postmaster, Maggie Magagna..
On March 13, Peggy Krauter from Muncy will be promoted to Supervisor. She has been with the postal service for 21 years, working part of that time in the Turbotville and Montgomery Post Offices as a flexible clerk. She came to the Muncy location in 1994. “Peggy will now be in charge of delivery and customer services,” said Magagna who interviewed eight other employees and found Krauter to be the best qualified.
“I like to provide effective work team relationships,” said Krauter when asked why she felt she was awarded the position. “I like every aspect of this job. We have a great team here,” she added. The Muncy Post Office has 14 full time employees and ten part time. All agreed they are just as busy as always counting and sorting mail, parcels, and several circulars that come every week.
Mail volume has dropped nationally to 16 percent since 2006 said USA Today, and the U.S. Postal Service must make drastic changes to avert a projected loss of $238 billion over the next decade, including closing post office branches and raising prices, Postmaster General John Potter announced last week.
“I can’t see them picking and choosing different locations. There is not a major downturn here,” said Postmaster Magagna who does not anticipate losing any personnel. Krauter was promoted and now someone will be hired to take her place as a regular clerk.
In the meantime, Jeff Kline was hired last Saturday as the new Postmaster for the Hughesville Post Office. Lance Savidge, a clerk for six years at Hughesville has also been promoted and will be going to the Reach Road location as a supervisor. “Mail volume is pretty consistent here and not much of a decline,” said Savidge. Hughesville post office employs five full time carriers, three part time and three substitute rural carriers. Kline said he will need to fill Savidge’s position.
The Postal Service also released further details about its proposal to scale back to five-day delivery, saying it wants to eliminate Saturday deliveries. The move from six days to five could save the Postal Service $3.3 billion a year, Potter said.
“The mail fluctuates between seasons” said Magnana and Kline. “We stil have lots of mail.” When asked what day has the least amount of volume, both agreed that Saturdays were higher than the middle of the week, such as Wednesday. They have been directed by the Postmaster General to adjust delivery frequency to better reflect current mail volumes and customer habits.
A $4.8 million study commissioned by the Postal Service predicts mail volume will fall from 177 billion pieces in 2009 to 150 billion pieces in 2020, while costs for labor and fuel rise. The Postal Service is not funded by taxpayers and must rely on revenue from stamps and other postal services. It has borrowed about $10 billion from the U.S. Treasury and expects to borrow $3 billion more this year.