May 6, 2008 — Fed up with ongoing mail delays in the territory, Delegate Donna M. Christensen has asked for an investigation by the U.S. Postal Service's inspector general.
"Whether it is the extraordinary length of time it takes for packages and periodicals to get to customers or packages not being delivered at all, the situation has become intolerable," Christensen said, according to a news release from her Washington office.
In her letter to the inspector general, Christensen asks for the investigation and the return to the practice of the Virgin Islands processing its own mail instead of having it processed in Puerto Rico. The letter was co-signed with Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.), chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, Postal Service and District of Columbia.
Currently every piece of Postal Service mail in the Virgin Islands — whether inbound, outbound intra- or inter-island — goes through Puerto Rico. Even a piece of mail going from Red Hook to Bovoni takes a plane ride to San Juan.
"I have repeatedly pointed out to the postmaster general and others that the current system of consolidating mail processing in Puerto Rico has not worked for the Virgin Islands," Christensen said. "Instead, it has turned the clock back on one of our vital communication links to the wider world."
While the congressional committee has oversight of the Postal Service, the service is not under Congress' absolute authority. That's why Christensen appealed to the USPS to move processing back to the territory.
"We have put it before the postal system because they have the authority to do it, and Congressman Davis is exploring whether this can be done in any other manner," Christensen said Tuesday in a conference call.
Local businessmen spoke out in support of Christensen's efforts.
"We salute our delegate's proactive efforts," said Omer ErSelcuk, chairman of the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce. "She has been on top of this and fighting this battle, and we throw our support behind her. I am sure she is as frustrated as the rest of us."
The USPS issued a statement in response to Christensen's request for the inquiry: "The Postal Service is committed to providing the best possible service to the Caribbean District, including service to the U.S. Virgin Islands. We have and continue to review the transportation of mail to and from the Virgin Islands to ensure timely processing and delivery of the mail. We also will continue to address every specific delivery issue a customer may have as they occur, and encourage customers who may have concerns to contact us."
Delays have a clear impact on local businesses, ErSelcuk said, citing industries such as his Seaborne Airlines that rely on delivery of parts.
"Make no mistake — the reliability of the Postal Service here affects all of us doing business in the V.I," ErSelcuk said, adding, "It has a side effect; it slows down the efficiency of doing business in the territory. We don't need that working against us."
Other businessmen talked about how they have to work around the delays.
"When they shifted the [processing] center into Puerto Rico, the service was terrible," said Tom Brunt, CEO of MSI Building Supplies. "It takes about seven days to get something from St. Thomas to St. Croix. If we need to get it there, we use the airboat."
It's wasteful to send intra- and inter-island mail via Puerto Rico for processing, Brunt contends.
"That is nonsense in this day and age," he said. "When fuel costs what is does, to take it another 70 miles is nonsense."
ErSelcuk's personal experience in ordering items from the States is that they have taken up to four and one-half months to arrive, with some overnight packages taking four days to get here.
"You have to count on it taking two to three days," ErSelcuk said.
One well-documented case of delayed or missing mail involved nearly 1,800 bills from the V.I. Water and Power Authority (WAPA) to customers in Smith Bay, the Nazareth/Red Hook areas and Water Bay. (See "WAPA to Waive Late Fees on Delayed Bills.")
The Postal Service acknowledged receipt of the bills from WAPA but did not know why they weren't delivered, said Maurice Sebastien, WAPA's assistant chief financial officer.
ErSelcuk believes private industry may step in to offer an alternative.
"If USPS is not able to fix these issues, private enterprise will take a crack at it," he said. "You see that FedEx, UPS and DHL do big business here."
But ErSelcuk was quick to compliment local Postal Service employees.
"From the postmaster to the folks that deliver our mail, they do an incredible job, but they can't make up for the flawed system," he said.
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