Forest Home Post Office Hours Reduced
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In Butler County, one rural post office is cutting its hours of operation by half, and while officials say it is needed to keep the post office open, community members are worried they will soon lose what they call the heartbeat of their town.
Representatives from the U.S. Postal Service say they are cutting the hours at the Forest Home Post Office as part of their Post Office Structure Plan. They say it is an effort to keep the post office open when it was once on a list of possible closures.
The post office has been in Forest Home since the late 1800s, but it will be open for just four hours each weekday. The reduction is part of a nationwide cost cutting measure by the U.S. Postal Service. In its most recent fiscal quarter. the USPS reported a loss of 1.9 billion dollars.
Because of the losses, postal officials have studied the possible closure of nearly 4,000 post offices since 2011.
The reduced hours in Forest Home have some community members worried this could be the beginning of the end for what they call the heartbeat of their community, “It bothers me that their paychecks will be cut, but, you know, the four hour days, we can live with it though if we have to,” says James Hawkins, who lives in Forest Home.
Officials say since last year, first class mail volume has dropped more than 4%.
Postal service representatives say reducing the hours will preserve rural post offices instead of closing them.
Jesse McWilliams, a Butler County Commissioner, says, “I know that saving money is important, but it seems like the postal service could maybe put a little emphasis on trimming in bigger places and doing those types of things rather than just cutting in our rural communities.”
The date the hours will change at the Forest Home Post Office has not been set in stone yet, but will be posted in the building once it is decided.
Since September 2012, hours have been reduced at 200 Alabama Post Offices.
