The Postal Service says it will fix Philly’s mail problems in response to audit

The U.S. Postal Service committed to fixing delays in mail delivery and other problems identified in a recent audit of service in Philadelphia and Delaware, Sen. Bob Casey and Rep. Dwight Evans said Tuesday.

The audit was conducted by the USPS’s Office of Inspector General starting in October at the request of Casey and Evans following long-standing complaints from constituents about mail delays.

The 23-page audit report, dated Feb. 15, focused on the Germantown, Logan, and North Philadelphia stations in Philadelphia, as well as three stations in Delaware. Problems with delayed mail and other Postal Service deficiencies were found at all the stations, the audit report said.

The USPS agreed with the audit’s findings and committed to fixing the problems by the end of March.

“The results of this audit will come as no surprise to the residents who have been dealing with delayed or missing mail for years,” Casey said in a statement.

“However, it’s encouraging that this audit includes recommendations to fix these issues and a commitment from USPS to take corrective action by the end of next month. Philadelphians deserve reliable and timely mail service and I’m going to keep fighting on behalf of my constituents until that is the case,” Casey said.

The audit did not directly address the problem of stolen mail. That issue did come up during a congressional hearing in September at Temple University.

The Chestnut Hill Local reported, based on information received through the Freedom of Information Act, that from 2020 to 2021, the total number of checks stolen from the mail rose 160% nationally, from 18,465 to 47,994. The total for 2022 was on pace to nearly double, the Local reported.

The USPS Inspector General audit covered mail delays, customer service, and deteriorating property conditions at the six stations in Philadelphia and Delaware.

At the Germantown station, for example, the audit found that delayed mail occurred for various reasons, including insufficient staffing, lack of experienced staff, and a shortage of universal “arrow” keys needed to open mail collection boxes.

Management at the North Philadelphia station told the auditors that carriers brought back mail at the end of the day because the station only had 14 universal keys to share around 49 carrier routes.

The station also did not have enough experienced delivery personnel, with 65% of the staff having less than one year of experience and not sufficiently knowing the delivery routes.

Increases in political mail worsened these situations.