The Ketchum Post Office currently charges $138 and $176, respectively, for the two smallest post office box sizes.
The letter outlines the officials’ concerns, which are centered around what they see as an unfair fee for a service that should be free.
In September, David Rupert, USPS communications director for the Western United States, said that the fee increases are “in order to remain competitive with other companies that offer post office box services,” like UPS and DHL.
Also at issue is the “Group E exemption,” which stipulates that addresses to which mail is physically unavailable should qualify for a free P.O. box. Postmaster John MacDonald and Rupert both agreed this exemption does not apply to Ketchum residents because the city decided against adopting home delivery at a town hall meeting in the late 1990s. The Express could find no record of such a vote in its archives.