WHERE DID WE START? We started this journey for postal reform in 2011 and have exceeded all of the expectations. When we first began we were faced with a Congress comprised of members that had no idea the postal leasing program even existed. With the help and hard work of the board we have changed…
As we enter the spring and prepare for election season to ramp-up, now is “do or die” time for postal reform in the 113th Congress. As we know from our previous endeavors, if Congress fails to act before the 114th Congress is sworn in this January, the process of postal reform will start over in both Chambers.
That being said, we are beginning to see some movement in the House of Representatives with staff briefing leadership and members on the various provisions and plans in the Postal Reform Act.
By Tom Coe and Phil Wilson of Real Estate Asset Counseling What a distasteful word –”Holdovers.” It reminds many people of the “leftovers” for lunch or dinner when we would rather enjoy the pleasure of a fresh, newly prepared meal. The correlation is not too hard to make, since a “holdover” in the context of…
by AUSPL Board Member Mark Dattel As Postal lessors we all want to ensure that our buildings are being properly maintained whether maintenance is the responsibility of the USPS, the owner or a combination of the two. It is incumbent upon us as lessors to inspect our buildings for any deficient maintenance and notify the…
Although comprehensive postal reform has yet to move forward, leaders in the House and Senate chose to include some restrictions on the Postal Service in the recently passed “omnibus” spending bill that will fund the government through September of 2014.
The $1.1T (yes, that’s a T for Trillion!) federal spending bill ended up 1,582 pages long and contained two policy restrictions on the USPS. Page 541 of the bill bars the USPS from discontinuing Saturday delivery as well as restricting the closure of rural post offices.
In its efforts to cut costs, USPS officials announced their desire to close 3,600 post offices in July 2011 and to eventually close up to 15,000 buildings nationwide, along with half their mail processing centers. Postal lessors and customers fought back and in December 2011, USPS agreed to a six-month moratorium on closings, which ended…
The AUSPL Board of Directors recently joined AUSPL lobbyists Alan Suskey and David Jolly in Washington, DC, to meet with leaders in the House and Senate on postal reform. It was an “exciting” time in DC to say the least. Our trip happened to coincide with the end of the fiscal year and the government…
by Tom Coe, President Real Asset Counseling, Inc. Over the past few years, and particularly with the focus provided by the educational session on valuation of leased USPS properties at the AUSPL conference in Scottsdale this past April, there has been increased interest in the most appropriate methods to determine “fair market” and “fair value”…
For information on POStPlan meetings and POStPlan status reports use this link .
Click here to see the Fair Market Value Tool Kit form. by Keith LaShier Owners of buildings leased to the U. S. Postal Service generally have a great relationship with the Post Office. There are, however, times when lessors must educate themselves in preparation for discussions with USPS representatives when the USPS lease agreement is going to…