A U.S. Postal Service proposal filed this week to end next-day delivery of First Class mail is tied to plans to close hundreds of mail processing facilities around the country including four in Iowa. Postal Service spokesman Richard Watkins says there’s been a dramatic drop in mail volume in recent years – especially First Class mail. The shift has contributed to the Postal Service’s five-point-one billion-dollars ($5.1 billion) in debt this year alone.

“As you begin to dispatch less than full pallets and ship less than full truck loads, that’s when it gets really expensive,” Watkins said. The Postal Regulatory Commission likely won’t issue an opinion on the proposed changes for several months. The processing centers being considered for closure in Iowa are located in Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Carroll and Creston. Facilities in Fort Dodge and Sioux City have already closed. And the Postal Service earlier announced plans to close up to 175 Post Offices in the state. Watkins notes First Class mail volume has dropped 27-percent in just three years.

“In 2005, for example, only five-percent of people paid their bills online. Now, that figure is 60-percent. So, there’s been a huge shift in the way our customers nationwide are using the mail,” Watkins said. The Postal Service is also turning to Congress in hopes of changing policies that would save the agency billions of dollars. One would eliminate a requirement to pre-fund future retiree health benefits. Another change, which Watkins says many customers support, would eliminate mail delivery on Saturdays. 

 He notes independent opinion surveys of both residential and commercial mailers have found nearly 70-percent would accept a five-day delivery week as a way to keep postal rates down. Watkins said, since 2006, the U.S. Postal Service has cut jobs and consolidated services to save about 12-billion dollars ($12 billion) — but much more still need to be done.

(Pat Curtis/Radio Iowa)

Last week we told you about a cyber attack targeting local businesses and in some cases individuals who conduct a substantial amount of Automated Clearing House, or ACH, transactions from their computers. ACH is an electronic network for financial transactions, that processes large volumes of both credit and debit transactions which are originated in batches. Atlantic Police Chief Steve Green said at the time, that there was one confirmed victim of the attacks, and another suspected of being attacked.

Today, the Nishna Valley Family YMCA in Atlantic is set to announce its computer systems have been breached by a cyber virus aimed at the organization’s financial information. We contacted YMCA Executive Director Dan Haynes last week who confirmed the Y’s computers had been hit by a key-logging virus, but he would not disclose the amount of money they lost as a result of the breach. That is expected to become clearer today, during a press conference slated for 10-a.m.

In a letter sent to YMCA members, Haynes and the YMCA Board said authorities are continuing to investigate the financial breach of information, which has affected the Y’s General Fund. At this point, investigators with the FBI, Iowa DCI and Atlantic Police do not believe the virus sought to obtain members’ banking information, but it is possible that the information was compromised. Any person or business who has made automatic payments to the Y, according to the letter, needs to take necessary precautions.

That would include closely monitoring your bank account and notifying your financial institution, local law enforcement and the Iowa Attorney General’s Office, if you see any unauthorized activity.  Experts also recommend you contact the three U.S. credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian or Trans Union), to find  out if there have been changes to your credit report.

Their contact information is as follows:

Equifax, 1-800-685-1111 or www.equifax.com       Experian, 1-888-397-3742 or www.experian.com

and, TransUnion, LLC, 1-800-888-4213 or www.transunion.com

In addition, you may be eligible for a free credit report by calling 1-877-322-8228 or by accessing annualcreditreport.com

Authorities say they believe the cyber thieves were only interested in company ACH information, which is the reason the Nishna Valley YMCA notified its members by mail, that if they have conducted ACH transactions with the YMCA, such as automatic payment processing through monthly drafts…the bank routing number on that account and the name on the account could potentially have been compromised.

It won’t be know how long the attack affected the YMCA’s computers for several months, while the investigation is underway, or what data was compromised. The Y does have a security system in place to protect personal information, but as Police Chief Green said last week, the virus is virtually undetectable even with the best anti-virus software and firewalls. If you have any questions about the ACH cyber attack on the YMCA’s computers, call Dan Haynes at 712-243-3934.

The Atlantic City Council is set to consider a resolution during their meeting Wednesday evening, to approve the 2012 Budget for Atlantic Municipal Utilities. The proposed budget for the Electric and Water Departments for Calendar Year 2012 totals nearly $10.8-million, which is an increase of nearly $665,000 or 6.6% over the current year re-estimate.

The increased cost is being offset with increases in AMU’s electric rates of 10-14% that went into effect last month. City Administrator Doug Harris says AMU’s proposed budget calls for a $360,000 transfer to the City, in lieu of paying property taxes…something Harris says is a common practice, as a private utility would pay property taxes, and be subject to a franchise fee of up to 5%. AMU’s contribution amounts to about 3.3% of their revenues, which is designed to offset AMU’s utility charges to the City. 

In other business, the City Council in Atlantic will act on a motion to direct staff to advertise the sale of nearly 13-acres of City-owned land adjacent to the old Delong Building, by means of a public auction. The Council Finance Committee is recommending a public hearing be held and consideration be given to selling the two parcels, which total 12.93-acres. The City has advertised for bids on the agricultural lease of the two parcels, and may act Wednesday on awarding the three-year agricultural lease, during their meeting. 

And, the Council will act on a Resolution amending City policy, for the expenditure of public funds for observances which include events such as the Christmas Party for City Employees. Monies for the event have come, in the past, from pop machine profits and donations. Under State Code, those types of expenditures should be included in the City’s policy that authorizes those types of observances. Harris will recommend to the Council expenditures be allowed for the Christmas Party, with a limit not to exceed $400.

The City Council meeting begins at 5:30-p.m. Wednesday, December 7^th.

Members of the CAM Community School District’s Board of Education met Monday night in Anita, to hear a report from Superintendent Steve Pelzer about an opportunity to become involved with a company which provides students a free, online learning experience. Pelzer told KJAN News the district has been involved in discussions over the past week or so, with a national, full-time online K-12 learning company, talking about a possible partnership that would create a free, online K-12 full-time learning school in Iowa.

Pelzer says Monday night’s meeting was an opportunity to share with the board what he’s learned about the company, Connections Education, based in Baltimore, Maryland. He says a representative from Connections is scheduled to appear before the board during another special meeting Thursday, Dec. 8th, at the High School Media Center in Anita. During the 6:30-p.m. session , the Connections Rep will present additional information on their program. Pelzer says the board was interested enough during the previous meeting to hear more about the school. He says Connections Education is part of Pearson Learning. The company has already partnered with Departments of Education or Schools in more than 20 states.

He says an online K-12 School is a brand new, and interesting concept in Iowa, and something that may be worth pursuing in the future. A school district in eastern Iowa is exploring a similar online program, but with a different company. Pelzer says if CAM went with Connections Education, it would likely result in a completely new school in the district, and it would benefit CAM students, by allowing them access to certain classes online that they would otherwise not be able to take. Students would take the classes from home. Pelzer says the company wants to involve parents in the process.

The reason the full-time program would be free, according to Pelzer, is that it would follow the state’s Open Enrollment laws, in that students from across the State would have the opportunity to meet all the timelines and qualifications for Open Enrollment to open enroll into an online academy. The fees would be funded by the respective resident school district.

Pelzer says no decisions have been made with regard to the program. He says the CAM District is only “Looking to explore possibilities that would benefit our district and benefit our kids.” Learn more about Connections Education at http://www.connectionseducation.com/connections-education/home.aspx