NonStop Local: Bill introduced to protect Missoula postal service operations

A bill was introduced on Thursday to prevent changes to the Missoula post office on Kent Street following a USPS decision to consolidate some of its services. 

The bill introduced by Sen. Jon Tester would stop the consolidation of mail operations unless the plans followed a new set of criteria.

The guidelines in the bill include prohibiting moving processing services out of state, requiring geographical reviews to account for mountain passes and having the support of the public to consolidate the operations, according to Sen. Tester’s release.

The introduction of the bill follows a decision on Tuesday from the USPS to move some of the mail processing operations that currently take place in the Missoula post office to instead be processed in Spokane, Wash.

USPS said the move is part of a $40 billion investment strategy and no career layoffs at the Missoula office would occur as a result of this change.