The postal service elaborated on the Robbinsville zip code issue Friday, a day after Mayor Dave Fried blasted the results.
ROBBINSVILLE -- A town that wants its own zip code must meet a pre-determined set of benchmarks in a survey sent to residents, and Robbinsville's response fell short, a U.S. Postal Service spokesman said Friday.
The postal service elaborated on the Robbinsville zip code issue Friday, a day after Mayor Dave Fried blasted the results of the town's survey.
File photo The town needed an 80 percent response, but the postal service only received 53 percent in return. If the town had met the 80 percent line, 75 percent of them would have to have been in favor of the change.
The town was seeking to have the zip code 08691 officially designated as Robbinsville.
Fried assailed the decision, saying it was a "veritable dog-and-pony show" that set up the town to fail, saying the postal service only gave the town 21 days, from mailing the surveys to the date they had to be sent back.
Fried also challenged the 80 percent line, saying postal service regulations show a majority, or 51 percent is needed.
Ray Daiutolo Sr., a spokesman for the postal service in New Jersey, said postal policies do call for a return of more than 50 percent of surveys, but most postal districts use higher percentages.
"Districts use a higher percentage to ensure that the action of the town meets the approval of the community as a whole," he said in a statement. "This gives the postal service confidence that the process gets the full community participation."
Postal service snubs N.J. town's zip code quest, mayor outraged
He said the the South Jersey district uses an 80 percent response rate with a 75 percent approval of returned surveys.
That information was provided to the town in an October 22, 2015 letter and the South Jersey district received a letter from Fried on May 19, 2016, consenting to the survey proposal, Daiutolo said.
Fried, in mid May 2016, acknowledged the 80 and 75 percent benchmarks, and urged all Robbinsville residents to respond to the survey.
Daiutolo said it's imoortant to note that the policy allows the use of higher percentages as well.
The postal service said Thursday that they mailed surveys to 5,263 addresses and received 2,897 responses, a 53 percent return.
On Thursday, Fried said the town will not give up in the quest and he vowed an appeal.
"We want another chance, a fair chance, to change to a unified zip code of 'Robbinsville, 08691.' I encourage every resident unhappy with this result to write the USPS and express their displeasure," Fried said Thursday.
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