Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 1, 1994 TAG: 9412010106
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The independent Postal Rate Commission approved the Postal Service request for the January increase on Wednesday.
But the commission turned thumbs down on a plan to raise nearly all postage rates by the same percentage - instead setting larger increases for mailing printed matter, advertising and parcels and holding down the increase for heavier first-class items.
The package is expected to bring the Postal Service $4.7 billion in added income in 1995, said Rate Commission Chairman Edward J. Gleiman. The post office lost $1.3 billion in the just-completed fiscal year and $1.7 billion the year before.
``The Postal Service clearly established its need for additional revenues,'' Gleiman said.
The increase is expected to cost the typical household an extra 60 to 75 cents per month.
The matter now goes back to the post office's governing board, which is expected to hold a special meeting this month to set a date for the increase - perhaps as early as Jan. 1.
The governors could reject the commission decision and ask it to reconsider. That is unlikely, however, because the ruling has few major differences from the Postal Service's request and the agency urgently needs additional income.
The post office issued a statement saying it was disappointed that the commission declined to treat all classes of mail the same. ``Nevertheless, its decision appears to be designed to meet our revenue requirement,'' the agency said.
Art Sackler of the Mailers' Council, a coalition of large mailing organizations that had spearheaded the original rate proposal, said that plan would have been preferable but characterized the decision as ``neither great nor terrible.''
But Jonah Gitlitz, president of the Direct Marketing Association, said higher rates for advertising mail will require businesses to look to other ways of delivering their message, causing a drop in mail volume and hurting the Postal Service.
by CNB