News
Summit County residents looking to apply for or renew a passport will now have to either wait or drive to put in their applications since two local post offices stopped offering passport services in the last two months.
The two post offices in Summit County that handled passports, the Dillon and Breckenridge offices, have both discontinued the service due to staffing shortages.
For passport applicants, this will mean a drive to the post offices in Fairplay or Vail, the nearest offices that still accept passport applications.
The Breckenridge office suspended passport services indefinitely after losing two of its seven staffers fairly suddenly in the third week of November. With a staffing shortage and a holiday mail rush looking to top that of last year, post office officials said Breckenridge had to cut the service to keep up.
“With Breckenridge, especially with the holiday season, the tourist industry, it is extremely busy,” said Al DeSarro, spokesman for the western Colorado post offices. “So we had to make a decision. We had to prioritize ... and the priority needs to be made on the regular customer service and delivery.”
Cutting passport services will allow Breckenridge to better manage already long lines and its several thousand post office boxes during a season when mail volume will increase and the number of packages shipped could double, DeSarro said.
The Dillon post office stopped offering passport services permanently as of Oct. 1 due to staffing reductions.
“It just came down to, we just don't have enough staff anymore to do it,” Dillon postmaster Rick Sprague said.
The Dillon post office has eliminated four positions this year through attrition due to budget cuts. The staffing reductions at Dillon also correlated with a decrease in mail volume during the recession, Sprague said.
Postal officials approved the decision to permanently suspend passport services at Dillon while the Breckenridge post office was still offering the services nearby.
“We were removed because Breckenridge was doing them, so we still had one in the area,” Sprague said.
When one Breckenridge clerk transferred and another quit unexpectedly a few weeks later, it canceled the service as well.
Breckenridge might reinstate passport services after the holidays, but will likely wait until the two staff positions have been filled, DeSarro said.
Accepting passport applications is a particularly time-consuming service, taking at least one clerk away from the counter, Sprague said. It is also a service offered on behalf of the state department. Fees collected from passport applications do support the local post office, but the income is not the post office's “bread and butter.”
At press time, the U.S. Postal Service website and phone line indicated Breckenridge still offered passport services. DeSarro said the office is working to update both resources.
A directory of Colorado post offices and the services they offer is available online at ww.usps.com.
The two post offices in Summit County that handled passports, the Dillon and Breckenridge offices, have both discontinued the service due to staffing shortages.
For passport applicants, this will mean a drive to the post offices in Fairplay or Vail, the nearest offices that still accept passport applications.
The Breckenridge office suspended passport services indefinitely after losing two of its seven staffers fairly suddenly in the third week of November. With a staffing shortage and a holiday mail rush looking to top that of last year, post office officials said Breckenridge had to cut the service to keep up.
“With Breckenridge, especially with the holiday season, the tourist industry, it is extremely busy,” said Al DeSarro, spokesman for the western Colorado post offices. “So we had to make a decision. We had to prioritize ... and the priority needs to be made on the regular customer service and delivery.”
Cutting passport services will allow Breckenridge to better manage already long lines and its several thousand post office boxes during a season when mail volume will increase and the number of packages shipped could double, DeSarro said.
The Dillon post office stopped offering passport services permanently as of Oct. 1 due to staffing reductions.
“It just came down to, we just don't have enough staff anymore to do it,” Dillon postmaster Rick Sprague said.
The Dillon post office has eliminated four positions this year through attrition due to budget cuts. The staffing reductions at Dillon also correlated with a decrease in mail volume during the recession, Sprague said.
Postal officials approved the decision to permanently suspend passport services at Dillon while the Breckenridge post office was still offering the services nearby.
“We were removed because Breckenridge was doing them, so we still had one in the area,” Sprague said.
When one Breckenridge clerk transferred and another quit unexpectedly a few weeks later, it canceled the service as well.
Breckenridge might reinstate passport services after the holidays, but will likely wait until the two staff positions have been filled, DeSarro said.
Accepting passport applications is a particularly time-consuming service, taking at least one clerk away from the counter, Sprague said. It is also a service offered on behalf of the state department. Fees collected from passport applications do support the local post office, but the income is not the post office's “bread and butter.”
At press time, the U.S. Postal Service website and phone line indicated Breckenridge still offered passport services. DeSarro said the office is working to update both resources.
A directory of Colorado post offices and the services they offer is available online at ww.usps.com.
