Panel Urges 1st-Class Mail Rise to 29 Cents

The Postal Rate Commission today recommended a 4-cent increase in the rate for first-class mail to 29 cents a letter.

The U.S. Postal Service had requested that the first-class rate be raised a nickel to 30 cents.

However, the independent rate commission said 30 cents was not justified and scaled that back by a penny, a change that the commission said would save mailers $800 million per year. Rates for third-class advertising mail would rise 25% under the decision, rather than the 17% increase proposed by the post office.

“The commission strongly disagrees with--and has therefore rejected--the service’s proposal to shift more of the burden . . . onto first class and away from other classes,” commission Chairman George W. Haley said.

In addition to the 29-cent first-class rate, the commission recommended that a new 27-cent rate be introduced for the public when it uses specially prepared reply envelopes that contain coding, making it easier for the post office to handle.

The commission also recommended a 19-cent rate for post cards, a penny short of the postal service’s request.

The matter now goes back to the governors of the U.S. Postal Service, who may accept the recommendation, reject it and ask for reconsideration by the rate commission or put the rates into effect under protest.

If the process follows its normal course, the current 25-cent letter rate could be replaced by early February.