Politics & Government

IB Post Office Was Among 40 Considered for Closure or Other Changes Last Summer

The Imperial Beach Post Office will remain open, officials say, but it was one of 40 different USPS branches in the San Diego region considered for closure or other changes to save money.

The Imperial Beach Post Office was among 40 post office branches in the United States Postal Services San Diego region that were considered for closure, consolidation or other changes in summer 2011.

Post office closures and consolidations started two years ago as a way to avoid bankruptcy and bleeding billions in revenue. 

A list released at the end of July by the USPS named more than 3,000 possible post office closures, with four in the San Diego region.

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A month later, a different list which mentioned Imperial Beach and others not included on the July list was shared with members of Congress and their staff during a State of the Postal Service presentation.

The list included 40 San Diego region post offices or branches including the following:

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  • San Diego Downtown
  • Spring Valley/Casa de Oro
  • La Jolla Main
  • San Diego Southeastern
  • Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego (MCRD) 

The USPS San Diego Region includes parts of San Bernadino and Riverside counties.

Eva Jackson with the USPS San Diego Region said the lists are different because the July list only included closures. The list showed to members of Congress and their staff a month later included post office locations that may be closed, have reduced hours or other changes.

Ken Boyd, who coordinates discontinuances in the San Diego Region, said after further study, Imperial Beach and many others were quickly removed from consideration.

Among post offices or branches considered for closure or consolidation earlier this year, four have been closed and one is currently being considered, Jackson said. A few others like a La Mesa Annex and MCRD San Diego may have reduced hours.

The Imperial Beach Post Office was on the list, along with many of the other offices, Jackson said, because decision makers were considering relocating letter carriers to a neighboring facility.

"The postal service has every intention of keeping a retail portal in Imperial Beach for many years to come," Boyd said.

The State of the Postal Service meetings were held specifically to inform Congressional representatives of "the big picture" at the USPS and how four bills currently being considered could impact the future of mail in the United States. 

"Each one reshapes the postal service," he said.

Jackson said lists are compiled with input from regional postal service employees and Washington, D.C., headquarters. There are no regularly released lists, she said. Efforts to close or consolidate retail postal service offices will remain ongoing.  

Anyone who would look at IB would know immediately it doesn't make sense, for starters, since there aren't many other post offices nearby, Jackson said. 

Following announcements earlier this year that the USPS wants to cut 120,000 jobs, on Monday the USPS announced first-class mail will slow in spring 2012 for the first time in 40 years. Half the nation's mail processing centers will close resulting in the loss of 28,000 jobs.

Last month the USPS announced it lost $5.1 billion in the 2010-11 fiscal year. The USPS reported $8.5 billion in losses the previous year.

With those kinds of losses, Jackson said, everything is on the table. 

"Anything can be reconsidered right now," Jackson said. "We're just in a really bad financial state."

A post office cannot be closed solely because it doesn't create desired revenue, Boyd said.

Before a post office is closed, a process must be carried out which includes notice for public comments and review of around 20 different factors including rent paid for a facility, maintenance, number of employees, P.O. boxes, revenue, customer traffic and alternate sites nearby.


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