After being denied his request to the U.S. Postal Service for an independent Zip Code for Miami Lakes, Vice Mayor Manny Cid offered an alternative proposal at the January 14 council meeting.
Cid requested town staff to study the feasibility of Miami Lakes postage revenue being split between USPS and the town so that Miami Lakes could set up and pay for its own mail distribution system through a Contract Delivery Service approved by the USPS, in essence creating an independent Miami Lakes Zip Code.
The lawmaker pointed out five examples of independent zip codes including Saks Fifth Avenue in Manhattan (10022-SHOE), Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles (90090), Focus on the Family Campus in Colorado Springs (80995), Willis (Sears) Tower in Chicago (60606), and the Empire State Building in New York City (10118).
Cid emphasized that a Miami Lakes Zip Code could result in lowering automobile insurance rates as insurers often compile statistics for accidents, thefts, fraud and other losses by Zip Code to calculate risk factors and set their rates in those areas. (The three Zip Codes for Miami Lakes addresses – 33014, 33016 and 33018 – are Hialeah, Florida Zip Codes.)
Cid explained Contract Delivery Service carriers are not USPS employees but are independent contractors who provide service on specific routes. Contract suppliers not only deliver all classes and types of mail six days a week, but they can also sell stamps and accept Special Services Mail such as Certified, Registered and Insured Mail, and sell Postal Money Orders. Customers can also take advantage of carrier pickup on Contract Delivery Service routes.
In its denial of the Miami Lakes request, USPS said an independent Zip code would not be “operationally feasible” and would be “cost prohibitive” to the Postal Service. “This issue would be alleviated via the revenue sharing plan I have proposed,” Cid said.