Yesterday the District Attorney’s Office filed a lawsuit on behalf of Washoe County against the United States Postal Service (USPS) after receiving authorization from the County Commission.  The lawsuit seeks to stop the USPS from implementing its plan to move processing operations from Reno to Sacramento as part of a larger “national strategy” to consolidate their processing network.  Federal law requires the USPS to first go through the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), an independent body overseeing their operations, before implementing changes that affect service on a substantially nationwide basis.  The USPS has not done so, and the lawsuit asks the U.S. District Court here in Reno to halt any further action on the USPS plan and instead require them to go through the PRC’s advisory opinion process. If successful, the District Attorney’s Office, on behalf of the county, will participate in the PRC process and assert its position in opposition.  For now, the county will serve the USPS, which will have a chance to respond before the parties then argue their sides in court.    

In commenting on the lawsuit DA Chris Hicks said, “If the current Postal Service plan is implemented, a letter destined for a person in Reno from another person in Reno would be placed on a truck, driven over Donner Pass to Sacramento – weather permitting, sorted in California, placed back on a truck to be driven over Donner Pass again – weather permitting, and then transferred to the Reno local processing center for delivery. It does not take much to imagine the mail delays our region could face with such a change.” He concluded, “The county’s lawsuit seeks to unwind the Postal Service’s decision to move the operations until the appropriate regulatory commission can issue an opinion on the merits of the proposal.”

You can see the filed complaint here: USPS filed Complaint