Across rural America, people and pols are 'trying to get the Postal Service to do its job' and deliver the mail on time

Silverthorne, Colo., has reported mail delays of weeks or
months. (Photo by Elizabeth Findell, The Wall Street Journal)

"Snail mail" is meant to be an idiom for postal mail, but some rural areas of the country have started to feel like the phrase could be true. "Silverthorne, Colo., has reported mail-delivery delays of weeks or months," reports Elizabeth Findell of The Wall Street Journal. Ryan Hyland, manager of the town of 4,500, told Findell, "Christmas cards began arriving in February. But what’s not funny at all is driver’s licenses, disability payments, election ballots, prescriptions."

"Last month, seven Western Colorado towns and cities said they had banded together to hire lawyers to evaluate their options under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006, which requires the U.S. Postal Service to provide service across the nation," Findell writes. "The mobilization comes as a lack of reliable mail service is increasingly being reported in small towns and rural areas across the country. . . . The Postal Service declined to answer any questions this week but has previously cited trouble hiring staff as its primary problem across the country."

States have written Postmaster General Louis DeJoy seeking help. Vermont Sen. Peter Welch told Findell, "We are at our wits’ end trying to get the Postal Service to do its job. Most of us are realizing it’s not just Vermont, it’s not just Colorado, it’s all across rural America.” Findell adds, "Nowhere are the staffing issues more pronounced than in mountain tourist towns, where the cost of living is high, workforce housing is scarce and hiring is a challenge across all industries."

Findell reports, "DeJoy issued a statement saying alleviating mail problems would require solutions from local leaders. 'The Postal Service can and will solve problems within our own power, but local economic conditions are not among them.' . . . DeJoy’s message angered local leaders, who called it an excuse and spoke of their efforts to keep city services on track amid workforce challenges. . . . In Crested Butte, Co., pop. 1,700, local officials have for years tried to negotiate to get USPS to install parcel boxes, offering town property to do so, without success, said Town Manager Dara MacDonald."

Hyland told Findell, "If the postmaster is waiting for local economics to be in his favor, that’s not acceptable. . . . This is like a wildfire, and I’m not seeing regional or national Postal Service officials treating it like the disaster it is."