Inspector General agrees to audit Sioux City Postal Center consolidation study
By Michele Linck Journal staff writer | Posted: Thursday, June 15, 2006
Local officials were pleased to learn that the U.S. Postal Service study which could result in the closing of Sioux City's Area Mail Processing (AMP) and Distribution Center will get a thorough going over.
Congressman Steve King announced Wednesday that the Inspector General of the U.S. Postal Service has agreed to conduct an audit of the USPS's study of the AMP.
The Inspector General is independent of the USPS and serves as a watchdog over it.
Barbara Sloniker, Siouxland Chamber of Commerce vice president for government relations and transportation, called the audit "a very positive step." She said the Siouxland delegation, which lobbied in Washington for a review of the AMP study, has asked that the Postal Service hold off on making a decision until the audit is done.
Unlike the Postal Service's AMP study, King said, the Inspector General's office agreed its audit will be made public once it's finished. Only some of the results of the AMP study were made public, although the community was led to believe the entire study would be disclosed.
King, along with Iowa's U.S. Sens. Charles Grassley and Tom Harkin, met with the Inspector General Wednesday to outline the parameters of the audit, which is expected to take a number of months.
Grassley said that the audit "is a reason for hope. This doesn't stop the move from occurring," he said in a statement, "but at least we'll get a complete and independent review of what we think is a problematic proposal."
The USPS study began last year, one of 51 in the country conducted with an eye to consolidating AMP facilities to make the Post Office more efficient. Sioux City and Local 186 of the American Postal Workers Union feared the study would be used to close the Sioux City facility, slowing mail delivery and transferring about 47 of the 100 local AMP Center jobs to Sioux Falls.
"I hope an independent investigation of the study will reveal to Sioux City officials and residents how this study was really conducted," King said in a statement. "If the business case has not been fully examined, then a consolidation is clearly premature. I don't want the Sioux City postmark to be lost over a plan that has been deemed 'close enough for government work' by Washington bureaucrats."
Jim Price, Local 186 president, said the audit "can be nothing but good," although he added, "They should just call off the study rather than make the Inspector General's office office spend more taxpayer money doing another study."
A consolidation must improve service and save money, two things Price said the move of work to Sioux Falls would not do. He said the Sioux City processing plant leads the Hawkeye District -- all of Iowa and part of Illinois -- and is a close second in the nation for overnight delivery. And he said, the USPS would never explain how it figured that a consolidation here would save $1 million. He said the AMP study failed to include some of the costs involved in moving the work to Sioux Falls.
Sloniker said the announced audit "confirms what we've been saying all along, that there may be reason to think this is not a good consolidation, that there are factors that weren't included. They must have seen things in their preliminary look that validate what we've been saying."
Mayor Craig Berenstein said he is "extremely pleased" the Inspector General has agreed to an audit. "It's encouraging to know that our concerns have reached a level where we can receive an independent analysis," he said.
Congressman Steve King announced Wednesday that the Inspector General of the U.S. Postal Service has agreed to conduct an audit of the USPS's study of the AMP.
The Inspector General is independent of the USPS and serves as a watchdog over it.
Barbara Sloniker, Siouxland Chamber of Commerce vice president for government relations and transportation, called the audit "a very positive step." She said the Siouxland delegation, which lobbied in Washington for a review of the AMP study, has asked that the Postal Service hold off on making a decision until the audit is done.
Unlike the Postal Service's AMP study, King said, the Inspector General's office agreed its audit will be made public once it's finished. Only some of the results of the AMP study were made public, although the community was led to believe the entire study would be disclosed.
King, along with Iowa's U.S. Sens. Charles Grassley and Tom Harkin, met with the Inspector General Wednesday to outline the parameters of the audit, which is expected to take a number of months.
Grassley said that the audit "is a reason for hope. This doesn't stop the move from occurring," he said in a statement, "but at least we'll get a complete and independent review of what we think is a problematic proposal."
The USPS study began last year, one of 51 in the country conducted with an eye to consolidating AMP facilities to make the Post Office more efficient. Sioux City and Local 186 of the American Postal Workers Union feared the study would be used to close the Sioux City facility, slowing mail delivery and transferring about 47 of the 100 local AMP Center jobs to Sioux Falls.
"I hope an independent investigation of the study will reveal to Sioux City officials and residents how this study was really conducted," King said in a statement. "If the business case has not been fully examined, then a consolidation is clearly premature. I don't want the Sioux City postmark to be lost over a plan that has been deemed 'close enough for government work' by Washington bureaucrats."
Jim Price, Local 186 president, said the audit "can be nothing but good," although he added, "They should just call off the study rather than make the Inspector General's office office spend more taxpayer money doing another study."
A consolidation must improve service and save money, two things Price said the move of work to Sioux Falls would not do. He said the Sioux City processing plant leads the Hawkeye District -- all of Iowa and part of Illinois -- and is a close second in the nation for overnight delivery. And he said, the USPS would never explain how it figured that a consolidation here would save $1 million. He said the AMP study failed to include some of the costs involved in moving the work to Sioux Falls.
Sloniker said the announced audit "confirms what we've been saying all along, that there may be reason to think this is not a good consolidation, that there are factors that weren't included. They must have seen things in their preliminary look that validate what we've been saying."
Mayor Craig Berenstein said he is "extremely pleased" the Inspector General has agreed to an audit. "It's encouraging to know that our concerns have reached a level where we can receive an independent analysis," he said.
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