- The US Postal Service is set to lose $8 billion this fiscal year and is looking for numerous ways to cut costs
- The service has decreased the number of contract post offices and village post offices by 20% since 2019
- The closure of one such office in Salem Township will mean some residents must drive 14 miles round trip for mail
His neighborhood is one of about 2,500 nationally served by contract postal units. They are often typically inside businesses like convenience stores, sell stamps and offer services similar to the U.S. Postal Service but are operated by private contractors.
Stacer’s situation will become a bigger deal on Oct. 16. That’s when the contract postal service will close in his Washtenaw County community, forcing him and 45 other neighbors to make a 14-mile round trip to get their mail from a post office in Northville.
“Now that it’s in downtown Northville, you have to deal with road construction and all the traffic and the very limited parking around that Northville post office area,” said Stacer, 62. “So it’s going to be a big inconvenience.”
