While checking their mail Saturday, Byron residents learned their post office is one step closer to closing.

A 60-day proposal to close notice was posted at the Byron post office Saturday, Aug. 13.

If the Byron post office closes, delivery and retail services would be the responsibility of the Lovell post office. Byron mail might be placed in cluster boxes, the notice said.

Folks have from Aug. 13 to Oct. 14 to comment on the proposal, said Vicki Gibson, town of Byron clerk/treasurer.

Comments can be sent to USPS Consumer Affairs Manager, Colorado/Wyoming District, 7500 E. 53 Place, Denver, Colo., 80266-9631. An addressed form also can be picked up at the Byron post office between 7:30 a.m. 4 p.m.

“I would very much encourage people to fill out those sheets and send them back,” said Byron Mayor Bret George. “It would definitely help our cause.”

Following the comment period, the U.S. Postal Service will take 10 to 30 days to reach a decision. If it decides to close Byron’s post office, an appeal can be made to the U.S. Postal Regulatory Commission, said Al DeSarro, communication spokesman for U.S. Postal Service western region in Denver.

Any appeal must be received by the commission within 30 days once the final determination is posted, the proposal said.

From start to finish, it takes from six to nine months to close a post office, DeSarro said.

The Byron post office contains 249 post office boxes and averages 46 customer transactions per day. There are no delivery routes there, DeSarro said.

In fiscal year 2008, the Byron post office made $30,383 in revenue; $28,062 in FY 2009 and $26,117 in FY 2010, said the notice.

The Postal Service would save $35,729 annually by closing the Byron office, DeSarro said.

The service lost $8.5 billion last year. First class mail is dropping due to Internet billing, among other things. However, the service could save $3 to $5 billion annually by terminating Saturday deliveries — but that takes an act of Congress, and the service has been requesting five day delivery for the last two years, DeSarro said.

Polls have shown that 70 percent of the public supports five day delivery, and most companies that send bills to customers are behind it too, DeSarro said.

The service’s revenue is based on sales. It receives no tax revenue.

Post offices in Deaver, Emblem, Hyattville and Otto, among other Wyoming offices, were included in an expanded closure list, but no decisions affecting those have been made at this time, DeSarro said.