1. Strategic Issues.
2. Financial Matters.
3. Pricing.
4. Personnel Matters and Compensation Issues.
5. Governors’ Executive Session–discussion of prior agenda items and Board Governance.

Here is the agenda posted in today’s Federal Register:

Times and Dates: 6 p.m., Monday, March 30, 2009; 10 a.m., Tuesday, March 31, 2009; and 9:45 a.m., Wednesday, April 1, 2009.

Place:Potomac, Maryland, at the Bolger Center for Leadership Development.

Status:Closed.

Matters to be Considered:

Monday, March 30 at 6 p.m. (Closed)

1. Financial Matters.

2. Strategic Issues.

3. Pricing.

4. Personnel Matters and Compensation Issues.

5. Governors’ Executive Session–Discussion of prior agenda items and Board Governance.

Tuesday, March 31 at 10 a.m. (Closed)

Continuation of Monday’s agenda.

Wednesday, April 1 at 9:45 a.m. (Closed)

Continuation of Monday’s agenda.

Contact Person for More Information:Julie S. Moore, Secretary of the Board, U.S. Postal Service, 475 L’Enfant Plaza, SW., Washington, DC 20260-1000. Telephone (202) 268-4800.

Julie S. Moore,

Secretary.

WASHINGTON, DC — As the current economic climate continues to contribute to a decrease in mail volume, and with no reversal in the trend in sight, the Postal Service reported today it expects to end the current fiscal year with a volume decline of nine billion pieces. The end-of-year financial results will be released in November.

At today’s Board of Governors meeting, Postmaster General John Potter said the magnitude of the loss in mail requires the Postal Service to take steps now to shore up its business, which it is doing by reducing work hours. “While we deal with the economic challenges, customers and service to our customers will always be number one on our agenda, it is why we exist, it is our franchise,” said Potter.

In other financial news, the Board approved a preliminary Fiscal Year 2010 appropriation request totaling $144.6 million. This annual request to Congress includes $115.6 million in reimbursement for free services the Postal Service is required to provide, including free mail for blind persons and for overseas voting. The request also includes reconciliation adjustments for previous years based upon final audited mail volumes. In addition, the request includes $29 million for the latest annual installment from the Revenue Forgone Reform Act of 1993. This act requires the Postal Service to be reimbursed for services it performed in 1991 through 1993 and for shortfalls in the reimbursement of costs the Postal Service incurred processing and delivering certain nonprofit mail from 1994 through 1998.

Savings and Service Improvements from New Program

The Board today approved funding for the next phase of a letter recognition improvement program that further automates mail operations, resulting in reduced error rates and manual sorting costs. Phase two of the Distribution Quality Improvement program goes beyond relying solely on the information that is contained on a piece of mail, which is sometimes inaccurate or incomplete. The new program combines information from commercially available name and address databases to match and resolve address conflicts. The system will generate the correct 11-digit barcode, enabling the mail piece to be sorted to the appropriate order of delivery automatically, avoiding several downstream manual handlings that are required using today’s letter recognition systems. Eight letter recognition improvement programs have been implemented since 1996, resulting in improved customer service as more mail is barcoded and processed electronically.

U.S. Postal Inspection Service Helps Reduce Identity Crimes

The Board also learned more about the role the U.S. Postal Inspection Service plays in a new system that is helping the law enforcement community crack down on identity crimes. The National Identity Crimes Law Enforcement network uses programming and other computer services provided by Postal Inspection Service to help law enforcement identify theft patterns, search for long-term trends in identity theft and provide for a central repository of identity crimes-related information. Authorities are now able to learn immediately whether a particular piece of identification has been reported stolen or used in the course of a crime.

The database was designed by local, state and federal criminal investigators participating in a work group, organized and led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The Postal Inspection Service utilizes the network to reduce identity crimes committed by mail. A recent Federal Trade Commission study found that only two percent of identity theft victims who knew how their information was compromised said it was obtained through the mail.

In other action, the Board:

* Approved Vision 2013, the Postal Service’s new 5-year strategic plan. The plan focuses primarily on customers — meeting their needs by creating new value through the mail and generating profitable revenue for the Postal Service in an increasingly challenging environment. Vision 2013 will be available on usps.com on October 1.
* Authorized the purchase and renovation of an existing 28,500-square-foot building in San Francisco to serve as the new Townsend Carrier Annex to support present and future delivery requirements.

Speculation on possible outcomes from the meeting center on a restructuring of the organization, and other cost cutting initiatives. The USPS Board of Governors is scheduled to hold its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday and Thursday.

Place: Washington, DC, at U.S. Postal Service Headquarters, 475 L’Enfant Plaza, SW., in the Benjamin Franklin Room.

Status: September 23–12:30 p.m.–Closed; September 24–8:30 a.m.–Open; September 24–11 a.m.–Closed.

Matters to be Considered:

Tuesday, September 23 at 12:30 p.m. (Closed)

1. Financial Update.

2. Fiscal Year 2009 Integrated Financial Plan Briefing.

3. Fiscal Year 2009 Goals and Performance Assessment.

4. Product Pricing.

5. Strategic Issues.

6. Personnel Matters and Compensation Issues.

7. Governors’ Executive Session–Discussion of prior agenda items and Board Governance.

Wednesday, September 24 at 8:30 a.m. (Open)

1. Minutes of the Previous Meetings, May 6-7, and July 28-29, 2008.

2. Remarks of the Chairman of the Board.

3. Remarks of the Postmaster General and CEO.

4. Committee Reports.

5. Financial Update.

6. Preliminary Fiscal Year 2010 Appropriation Request.

7. Capital Investments.

a. Distribution Quality Improvement (DQI) Program.

b. San Francisco, California, Townsend Carrier Annex.

8. Vision 2013–Five-Year Strategic Plan.

9. Board of Governors Bylaw Amendments.

10. National Identity Crimes Law Enforcement Network.

11. Tentative Agenda for the November 12-13, 2008, meeting in Washington, DC.

Wednesday, September 24 at 11:00 a.m. (Closed)–If Needed

1. Continuation of Tuesday’s closed session agenda.

First-Class Mail volume decreased 3.9 percent and Standard Mail decreased 2.6 percent in the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2007.

Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President H. Glen Walker attributed the declining mail volume to “disturbing trends” in the overall U.S. economy.

“Unfortunately, two key sectors of the economy — finance and housing — suffered a downturn in the first quarter, and they’re both heavy users of the mail,” said Postmaster General John Potter.

Net income for the first quarter is estimated at $672 million on revenue of $20.4 billion.

“Although revenue is higher than in the same quarter last year, due to the price increase last May, it is $500 million less than expected,” Potter said. “We’re working to offset the disappointing revenue with cost reductions and new strategies for growth.”

Final first-quarter financial results will be released in February.

First Quarter Service Scores

National on-time performance scores for the delivery of First-Class Mail hit all-time first-quarter highs in two of the three categories the Postal Service tracks. National overnight service was 96 percent on-time – a first for three quarters in a row. Two-day service was 93 percent on-time. Three-day performance was 88 percent, a two-point improvement over the same period last year.

“These are excellent service scores for the first quarter,” said Potter, ”especially given winter weather conditions and our busiest mailing season.”

First-Class Mail performance is measured independently by IBM Global Business Services. The process measures First-Class Mail from the time it is deposited into a collection box until it is delivered to a home or business.

Other Board Action

The Board today approved three facility projects: expansion of the processing and distribution centers in West Sacramento, CA, and Providence, RI, and the purchase and renovation of an existing building and site to serve as the Perris, CA, Delivery Distribution Center.

Thursday, Nov. 15 at 8:30 a.m.

1. Minutes of the previous meeting, Sept. 24-26, 2007.

2. Remarks of the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Board (Jim Miller and Alan Kessler).

3. Remarks of the Postmaster General and CEO John Potter.

4. Committee reports.

5. Quarterly Report on Service Performance (Delores Killette, Consumer Advocate and Vice President).

6. Consideration of Fiscal Year 2007 Audited Financial Statements (Governor Katherine Tobin and Glen Walker, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President).

7. Tentative agenda for the Dec. 10-11, 2007, meeting in Washington, DC.

The purchase will conclude a three-part acquisition plan to provide 15,000 Postal Service-owned RHD vehicles to rural routes, a result of an interest arbitration decision involving the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association. The contract is expected to be awarded next month following a competitive evaluation. Deployment of the RHD vehicles to rural routes is set to occur from August 2007 to September 2008. In addition to fulfilling the interest arbitration decision requirements, these RHD vehicles will improve safety by providing easier access to curb line mailboxes and better maneuverability.

In other business, the governors approved an increase in the price of the Breast Cancer Research semipostal stamp from 45-cents to 55-cents, to take effect at the same time as proposed new First-Class Mail rates currently pending before the Postal Regulatory Commission. Semipostal stamps are First-Class Mail postage stamps that are issued and sold by the Postal Service at a price above the First-Class Mail single-piece first-ounce rate to raise funds for designated causes. Since 1998, the Postal Service has raised more than $53 million for breast cancer research through the sale of this semipostal stamp.

Also at today’s meeting, James Miller was reelected chairman and Alan Kessler was reelected vice chairman of the Board. The Board also welcomed Thurgood Marshall, Jr, to his first Board meeting. Marshall was appointed a governor by President Bush on December 15 for a term that expires December 8, 2011.