By JOHN HEILPRIN
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - For the second time in as many years, Americans are being asked to spend a penny more to mail a letter.
First-class stamps will cost 34 cents and other postal service rates will increase, but 20-cent postcards will remain unchanged. The price hikes are likely to take effect in early January.
Lori Demick, community and media relations coordinator for the Lansing Post Office, said her office is expecting a large rush before the price hike goes into effect.
“Businesses will be doing whatever they can to get their bulk mailings in the mail before Dec. 31, so they can save all those pennies,” Demick said.
After months of hearings and deliberations, the independent Postal Rate Commission approved the new rates Monday to offset rising costs. But it rejected some of the Postal Service’s proposed higher rates - such as a penny more to send postcards and one cent more for a letter’s second ounce.
The commission also for the first time set a one-pound Priority Mail rate of $3.50. Until now, people sending anything up to two pounds have paid the $3.20 two-pound rate. It also raised the two-pound rate to $3.95.
“While rates will go up, they will go up not quite as much as the Postal Service proposed,” said commission Chairman Edward Gleiman.
Beyond the penny increase, each additional ounce of first-class postage, up to 11 ounces, will be shaved from 22 cents to 21 cents.
Demick said she believes the hike was caused by increasing health costs for postal workers and higher overhead costs.
“We’re losing a lot of first class mail volume due to the Internet also because a lot of people are paying electronically for their bills and such,” Demick said. “Last year we had rumors that we made money. We did not. We operated in the hole last year. That’s why they put in for this postage increase.”
The Postal Service had hoped for a 6 percent increase overall in postage rates for all classes of mail to generate $2.8 billion more in revenue per year, with $1 billion of that coming from the one-cent increase for first-class stamps. But the five-member commission granted only a 4.6 percent overall increase, providing $2.5 billion.
By law, the Postal Service’s budget must break even each year, and the commission decided that could be done with an increase.
The last rate increase, adding a penny to the cost of a first-class stamp, was Jan. 10, 1999.
Monday’s ruling affects only domestic mail rates. The Postal Service can increase international rates on its own, and usually does so shortly after domestic rates are increased.
Emily Robinson, a State News staff writer, contributed to this report.
