Senator Fischer Responds to Downgrades at North Platte Post Office

The United States Postal Service (USPS) announced the initial findings of its Mail Processing Facility Review of the North Platte Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC). The report recommends transitioning the North Platte P&DC into a Local Processing Center and transferring some processing and distribution functions to Denver, Colorado.Currently, the North Platte facility processes and distributes all mail in Nebraska west of the city of Cozad to the Wyoming border, north to the South Dakota border, and into portions of northern Kansas. However, this could have implications beyond that area as mail from other parts of the state is routed through that facility, depending on where it comes from and where it goes. It is unknown at this time how delivery times may be impacted.A press release issued by USPS on March 8 of this year stated, in part, “As part of a $40 billion investment strategy to upgrade and improve the Postal processing, transportation, and delivery networks, the U.S. Postal Service is conducting an evaluation of current operations and potential future uses of its North Platte Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) facility in North Platte NE.”Similar changes are being considered throughout the United States.A controversial element of the recommendation involved sending some mail outside the state. According to USPS, “Additionally, the business case supports transferring some mail processing operations to the Denver P&DC in Denver CO. This would mean a significant percentage of the mail collected locally will travel across the wider USPS transportation and processing network over significant distances to reach their final destinations in a more efficient manner. Mail and packages destined for outside the local area may receive better service and be more cost effectively distributed by aggregating it with mail and packages from other areas going to the same places that will likewise utilize the wider postal network and be transported significant distances from where the mail originated.”A public meeting will be held on Thursday, March 28, at 6:00 p.m. at the Sandhills Convention Center, 2102 South Jeffers Street in North Platte. USPS will share the initial results of the study and allow members of the community to provide additional oral feedback and perspectives on the Initial Findings of the MPFR. A summary of the MPFR will be posted on about.usps.com at least one week prior to public input meeting.U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) released the following statement after the announcement, “I am disappointed and deeply concerned that USPS is moving forward with plans to downgrade the North Platte Post Office.“Transferring some operations to Denver risks cutting jobs and increasing delivery delays for Nebraskans. It is also especially difficult to understand how sending intra-Nebraska mail out of state would improve efficiency.“The best decisions impacting our communities are made by the people who live and work there, not government bureaucrats.“I will continue to fight against this misguided decision. I strongly encourage North Platte citizens to make their views and voices heard on this important topic,” said Senator Fischer.

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