Dear AUSPL Members,
May 4, 2016 marks the last day of my term as president of the AUSPL Board. I was first elected to the position in 2013 and feel privileged to have served the members and the board for the past 3 years. Hopefully I have helped to advance the mission of the Association and assist you when asked.
Gary Phillips takes over the leadership role. Many of you know Gary. The Association will be well served by his leadership skills, construction and leasing knowledge, and decades of experience working with the USPS.
The Annual AUSPL Conference was a great success. The annual conference is an opportunity to gain knowledge about your lease, property maintenance and the USPS. We heard presentations from experts on property valuation, inspection & maintenance of paving, dealing with asbestos and understanding the Contract Appeals language in your lease. A number of board members provided time to members to discuss their specific leasing issues, negotiations with CBRE or other interest. We were very fortunate to hear presentations from Ms. Karen LaFave, Manager Facilities Real Estate Leasing and Mr. Gerald Goddard, Manager Repairs and Alterations – Western Region. New this year were talks by Professors Crew from Rutgers on the financial pressures of the USPS, Professor Baradaran on postal banking, Mr. John Kane on postal reform legislation and Mr. David Williams, retired OIG and Adjunct Professor, on the additional services post offices could provide for generating additional revenue. If you were unable to attend please consider joining us next year.
The financial condition of the USPS remains tenuous. The Postal Service had made significant financial gains the past 3 years but as of April 1, 2016 lost it’s exigent rate increase due to a lawsuit by certain bulk mailers and non-profits who are granted below market rates.. The 2 cents per stamp increase provided over $2Billion in additional revenue annually resulting in a net $500Million of operating profit. While more was required to get it on a stable path for the future, this last setback will required Congress to step in soon to mitigate the financial burdens.
Congress has made significant strides on comprehensive postal reform legislation. Senator Carper and his staff have been working non-stop on his iPOST Bill (S2051), which was introduced to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. The U.S. House Oversight Committee, sub-committee on Government Operations has been working long hard hours to create a bi-partisan bill on Postal Reform and recently held its’ first hearing this year. While both Senate and House bill will most likely be different, the general belief is that a positive compromise can be struck to advance a bill to the President to approve. It is important for our membership to contact their Senators and Representative by letter, email and/or phone and let them know the importance of passing a Postal Reform bill that promotes a strong post office network and helps stabilize the USPS. Please call Sandra Lindsay in the AUSPL office if you need help contacting your Congressional Members.
Finally, The Postal Service has made significant changes to the USPS Lease forms. The new lease was scheduled for implementation June 1. The board has met with USPS management on several occasions to address our concerns. The USPS has agreed not to start use of the new lease until after August 1 while we provide them with additional explanation of our concerns. The AUSPL Board does not feel the changes were equitable to Lessors and are working toward providing language that does.
Hope to see all at the next Conference.
Sincerely,
Morgan Wolaver