The Villages needs a new post office!
 

Got a message in my mailbox that said I owed $8.66 postage due. They didn’t say what it was for, who it was from, where/whom to pay, or provide a tracking number. And there was no Form 3849 which is needed to request redelivery. I had no idea what it was.

Now they say I must contact the Lady Lake post office to inquire. They don’t answer their phones, and it’s an hour and a half drive (round trip), and I don’t even know if they still have the item or have already returned it to the sender.

The Lady Lake post office may have been conveniently located 10 years ago. But with the expansion southward, it’s now a big chunk of the day to drive there for those of us in the south. Why is it so difficult to include a more convenient branch post office that serves the Villages somewhere amidst all the new development in the south?

We were surprised to find our post office was the one ten miles away rather than the one three miles away. I didn't realize Lady Lake was also being used for those south of 44.

A guess would be that Lady Lake was convenient at the time and was large enough to handle the volume. It would be nice if the Okahumpka office could be used for the southern areas but that building looks rather small and there is probably no money in the budget for expanding it.

I would be surprised if they never answer their phones unless it was Monday morning when they opened. There is another number that shows on their site 800-275-8777 that is the ask usps number? In the future you might try informed delivery that would show the incoming mail via your email so you might have an idea what is coming to your mailbox. If your not expecting anything incoming and no one has called you saying did you receive this then I would not be to concerned. I also would not start the car and drive down until I knew what the trip was for.

The U.S. Postal Service head DeJoy is promising 10,000 job cuts and a review of leases of almost 31,000 postal retail centers and DOGE is in the process of slashing USPS funds even further. Doubtful there'll be a brand new shiny post office going up in the area any time soon.

DeJoy is gone.

Too many chiefs and not enough Indians.

Register at usps.com. The site has links for sending messages to customer service, post office locations, tracking, etc. I've used it to get answers, hold mail and a few other things, and it worked. Of course, that was a year or more ago. Things change.

I got a postage due for $4.99 on my birthday. Turns out it was a birthday card (card priced $5.99) with postage due. A normal size card that had a decoration on the front that made it about a quarter of an inch thick. Probably should have had an extra stamp but $4.99? Had I known what it was, probably would not have paid.

IMO that should have been sent to one that mailed it not the receiver? But, bet they figured out the receiver would be one most likely one to pay?

Take a ride, go to Sam’s Club, stop at Total Wine, have lunch at Miller’s Ale House and go to the post office. It’s not really that bad, I live south of 44 also and go up that way often. It’s not the other side of the world. Enjoy a little, and I recommend the fish and chips at Millers.

USPS might be profitable if they'd stop wasting time delivering junk mail. Do you see UPS or FedEx delivering stuff no one wants. I clean out my mailbox once a week and it's packed with all junk/trash.

:clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::BigApplause::B igApplause:

Junk mail provides approximately 20% of all USPS revenues and helps subsidize first-class mail. As small price to pay to have to deal with what comes to your individual mail box.

New post office.
 

We have a better chance of getting a Hooters in the villages than we do of getting a new post office. Just toungr inicheek remark. When I moved here 20 years ago was talk of getting a post office other than the one in the historic portion. With all the political clout of the Morse family and still no post office, I doubt that will ever happen. He did help get the new V A facility which is a big improvement in the small space it occupied at Laurel Manor when I first moved here.

Trimming the fat
 

I think it is great some of the waste is being trimmed from the USPS. They keep wanting more money and the service gets worse and worse. Its no secret what the problem is!

FedEx and UPS would be happy to deliver junk mail, if it was profitable. It's not. Only the Government can afford to lose money every year and stay in business.

Wrong
 

The USPS (United States Postal Service) is primarily funded by its own operations, relying on revenues from the sale of postage, products, and services. It's not funded by taxpayer money, unlike most other federal agencies, and is designed to be self-sufficient. However, Congress can provide supplemental funding, as seen in the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022, and the USPS may also receive taxpayer funds during crises, like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Without the “junk mail” they wouldn’t have any money to operate. Who uses snail mail? Most use email and have gone paperless for most things.

It’s sad that we sometimes listen to bad information and believe is the way our world is. Cutting the small federal funds will safe little, but cost us the “taxpayers “ greatly. Very sad the way our world seems too be going.

Read their own reports:

"The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) reported a net loss of $9.5 billion in fiscal year 2024. This was an increase from the $6.5 billion loss in the previous year. The USPS anticipates another net loss of $6.9 billion for fiscal year 2025.
Here's a more detailed breakdown:
FY2024 Loss: USPS reported a $9.5 billion net loss for fiscal year 2024.
FY2025 Projection: The agency expects to end fiscal year 2025 with a $6.9 billion net loss.
Factors Contributing to Losses: USPS attributed a significant portion of its losses to retiree costs and workers' compensation payments, which are largely beyond its control. The company also faces challenges with declining mail volume.
Reform Efforts: The USPS is implementing a 10-year "Delivering for America" plan to address its operational and financial issues. However, the agency is still falling short of its goal to break even."

We are losing a lot of money to get almost nothing but unwanted junk in the mail box. Times have changed and the post office should change along with it. I would guess about 90 percent is unnecessary trash. All my important stuff is on line. People do not even send Christmas cards any more.

A lot of what we consider wasteful, expensive, and unnecessary becomes absolutely critical when it is needed. That siren that annoys you when they test it can be a lifesaver when used to warn of a tornado. That seatbelt that is such a pain in the neck and has never helped you at all might save your life one day. And that inefficient, expensive USPS that you spend a lot of money on to get almost nothing but unwanted junk mails (90% at least) delivers that other 10% which is not unwanted and can include financial statements, notices required by the government, mail-in ballots, and Christmas cards.

Don't think just about the 90% that you don't want, consider what would happen if you didn't receive the 10% that you do want.

Before you place blame on current policies, TV developers offered land for a new post office as they were planning their expansion south when buildout was expected to be 2015. It was declined.

Does that mean TV told the USPS that they would not go beyond 44 but offered land for a post office somewhere in the Brownwood area? If that is the case then with Lady Lake already handling the volume, with Wildwood just three miles away, and with no homes south of 44 to service I can understand why the offer would be declined.

IMO the problem like most federal agencies too many outrageously over paid management/ supervisors/quality control that don’t control quality and not enough worker grade employees. Seems like when the cut it always one actually doing the work and one’s making the decisions don’t cut their own throats. The actual work don’t get done and costs are same or rise.

I wonder if USPS has Flex Time hours for it management like federal government? Another fraudulent management system for management cause they can’t/won’t deal with people coming in late.

Curious: does the Army report their financial shortcomings? When was the last time the Department of Agriculture showed a profit? What about Health and Human Resources? Is ICE presenting a balance sheet in the black this year? The Library of Congress is earning how much, exactly, for our country? In US Dollars please.

Since when is ANY government agency supposed to turn a profit? America is not a corporation. The government doesn't exist to be profitable. It might, at some point, be profitable, but that isn't its purpose. Government agencies cost money. Most of them don't have any actual revenue at all, they just spend. The USPS is no different, they do have revenue but it is marginal compared to its costs to operate. It is working as intended.

Usps
 

The problem has been the same for 75 (or more) years: JUNK MAIL!

When advertisers can flood the system with garbage (to us) at 4 or 5 cents each, while we pay 63 cents to send a payment or mail a card, there surely is a mismatch. By the way, magazine publishers pay about HALF that much per issue, so you're subsidizing your neighbor's Ladies Home Journal, too. [I wonder what Elon would do with the USPS.]

My pet peeve about the USPS is that some USPS proponents do not want to count the retiree costs in their budget, but these costs are huge and they cannot be ignored. Also, the other agencies you mentioned do not claim or even try to balance a budget because their functions mostly cannot be performed by corporations. Those that can should be contracted out. But almost all USPS functions could be performed by FedEx, UPS, and others.

When I lived down south I used the Coleman fl post office, very close ,nice people

Could Congress be the problem? USPS has proposed a number of times to close many rural offices and make other changes but Congress refuses to take those recommendations.

I thought we were told that the USPS was NOT a government agency?

So which is it?

The only way the developer would allow a post office in The Villages is if the PO would pay a percentage of all its sales to the developer. There is not a store in The Villages that doesn't do that!

Interesting that FedX and “others” have private contractors so as to not pay benefits. Corporations lower their costs to show more profits, pay CEO’S and executives millions and keep the workers on minimum salaries. Isn’t it a great country or what?

If you d
on't know who it is, they are not your friend!

I live in the far south and I know I don't need another post office. If I want to send something express mail, or a package via USPS, then I have at least two convenient choices, Sumterville and Okahumpka. The Leesburg post office is also not too far.

I've never gotten a postage due notice, and didn't know Lady Lake was my post office. But, how many postage due notices are people getting? A couple per year or less? I'm in Lady Lake fairly frequently anyway. Even if it were a wasted trip, its no big deal.

USPS should be disbanded altogether. Most people pay bills online or at least, get bills, financial statements online. Cards are becoming electronic as well. Requested mail forwarding in mid-March for seven week visit to the Villages — filled out 2 requests (both online). Result: 23 days, now late April, received 1st piece of mail stamped March 25. Ridiculous! Service stinks! Informed delivery is ok but not always correct. Get rid of driving an envelope to my door! Waste of resources & $$$!

USPS would actually be less profitable if they delivered less mail that people pay them to be delivered.

So it is not taxpayer funded except when it is taxpayer funded.
That is like saying you are dry except for when you are wet.

Easy to say if you are younger, have good vision, and drive a car.

And that would be 2 hours of driving in many areas.
Rural is where the high costs are, just like telephone service. But we cannot say only cities get mail and phone service.

How do farmers get their mail if your demand is implemented? Some live many hours away from any city?
What about people in Wyoming? There are almost asany people in Lancaster County, PA (where the Amish live) than in the entire state of Wyoming.
The US is far more diverse than this tightly knot cluster of people in the Villages.

It is a great country. It is so great, people risk their lives to break into it.

What country is better?