MACON, Ga. — Two Central Georgia congressmen — Rep. Stanford Bishop, a Democrat, and Rep. Austin Scott, a Republican — are urging the U.S. Postal Service to not scale down operations at the Macon Processing Distribution Facility on Holt Avenue.
According to a press release, Bishop and Scott sent a letter to Postmaster Gen. Louis DeJoy and the U.S. Postal Service's Board of Governors saying the decision would negatively impact the people of Central Georgia.
They also say that the decision to move the processing center to Atlanta could lead to delivery delays and they allege that it could negatively impact the postal services to rural communities in Central Georgia.
“The U.S. Postal Service should strive to provide the best possible service to every family and business in America, even those whose addresses are located in remote areas and rural communities,” Bishop said in the press release.
Both Scott and Bishop say that the decision to move the processing center could pose serious risks to the timely delivery of mail to rural communities.
“Any proposed changes to postal operations in Middle Georgia should take into account the unique challenges faced by rural Americans, especially our seniors who often rely on USPS for the delivery of bills, checks, and prescription drugs,” Bishop said.
Scott's statement was similarly focused on the impact that the relocation of the processing center could have on rural communities.
“Rural Georgians deserve to get their mail and packages in a timely manner. I’m working with Rep. Bishop to ensure that rural Georgians are not left behind as USPS makes changes to their processing and distribution centers,” Scott said.
According to previous 13WMAZ reporting, the plan — which the Postal Service says is an effort to modernize their operations — would lead to 32 of the 150 positions at the Macon Post Office on College Street and Holt Avenue moving up to Atlanta, but those numbers could change.
The facility currently processes packages, but the recommendation from the Postal Service would be to move those operations up to Atlanta.
According to the press release, the congressmen point to the closure of processing centers in Columbus, Albany and Valdosta Customer Service Mail Processing Centers in 2012.
They say those closures led to mail delivery delays on top of job losses.
"Congressman Bishop and Congressman Scott are concerned that the loss or scaling down of the Macon P&DC could make the situation worse and harm rural communities that rely on the Post Office the most," the press release said.
The plan from the Postal Service will turn the Macon Processing Distribution Facility into a Local Processing Center, which means that the facility would only process letters and flat mail.
They say it is not expected to process packages originating from Central Georgia.
The Postal Service's "Delivering for America" plan, which was published in March 2021, hopes to modernize the postal services and save costs.
In July, the Postal Service embarked on a Mail Processing Facility Review, where they considered moving operations from the Macon facility to the brand new Atlanta Regional Processing and Distribution Center, the press release said, and the review then recommended the status change.
The U.S. Postal Service's spokesperson for Georgia did not immediately respond to 13WMAZ's request for comment. But if they do, we will update this story with their response.
Get more news and information from 13WMAZ by downloading our 13WMAZ+ app on our Roku and Amazon Fire Stick devices.
This allows you to watch more 13WMAZ on-demand and access your favorite 13WMAZ shows like Central Georgia Focus and our Summer Safety Guide.