Metro Atlanta USPS facility still experiencing 'challenges' with mail delays, audit finds

article

The Palmetto USPS facility was criticized by auditors for a lack of management oversight and poor workplace culture. (FOX 5)

PALMETTO, Ga. - A new audit by the United States Postal Service's Inspector General says that more improvements need to be made to the troubled Palmetto Regional Processing and Distribution Center.

FOX 5 has been reporting on delivery delays at the metro Atlanta mail processing center for more than a year.

The backstory:

In May, a quarterly report from the U.S. Postal Service found that Georgia remains one of the worst states for on-time mail delivery.

Officials found that only 61% of two-day mail deliveries sent from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2024, in Georgia arrived on time. The on-time rate fell to just 54.5% for standard three-to-five-day deliveries. The USPS performance dashboard currently gives Georgia a score of 56.3%—more than 23 points below the national target of 80% for fiscal year 2025.

Only Ohio was found to have a lower performance score than the Peach State, the report stated.

The slow mail issue in Georgia, particularly in the metro Atlanta area, has been a significant problem due to the consolidation of multiple mail processing facilities into the single facility in Palmetto. This consolidation, part of the USPS's "Delivering for America" plan aimed at modernizing operations and reducing costs, caused widespread delays and service disruptions.

What we know:

While the audit found that the Postal Service has improved service performance at the metro Atlanta center, it said that performance remains below nationwide averages and "well below goals."

"Operations run smoothly at times, but at other times the facility cannot handle the volume of mail and trailers it receives and remains one adverse event away from gridlock," the auditors wrote.

The audit states that the agency had to expand its operations into a nearby annex to receive mail and continues to experience multiple challenges due to the layout of the facility.

Auditors also point to challenges connected with management oversight and workplace culture at the facility. They noted that 20% of employees expected to work did not show up each day on average and employees had a "lack of commitment and indifference to job performance." On the management side, the auditors said that there were several areas in the facility that were not actively supervised, and safety issues were overlooked.

"These issues contributed to over $16.1 million in questioned costs," authorities wrote. "If these issues were addressed, the Postal Service would further improve operations and service, as well as reduce costs."

You can read the full report here.

PREVIOUS STORIES

• Sen. Jon Ossoff demands answers for mail delays affecting Georgia veterans
• USPS postmaster general plans to step down, Georgia reaction
• Georgia mail delays: Ossoff, Dejoy tangle during Senate hearing
• Sen. Jon Ossoff seeks more control over postmaster general after mail issues

What's next:

This month, David Steiner, the former CEO of the nation’s largest waste management company who served on the FedEx board of directors, will take over control of the U.S. Post Service, becoming the nation's 76th postmaster general.

The Postal Service is in the midst of a 10-year modernization and cost-cutting plan that began in 2021 under Postmaster Louis DeJoy, who resigned in March. The plan is an attempt to stop losses at the agency, which has a budget of about $78 billion a year and is mostly self-funded, including through stamps and packages.