WINFIELD | The Town Council has approved a new mailbox damage policy that limits the town’s liability for replacement or reimbursement to no more than $75 per incident.
In Winfield, all mailboxes are along streets, and mail is delivered to each by a postal carrier driving a USPS vehicle.
Damage to business and residential mailboxes occasionally occurs during snow removal operations and other operation such as tree-trimming by both the Winfield Street Department and independent contractors hired to provide those services, said Councilman Don Samburg, who serves as a liaison to the various town departments.
The ordinance passed unanimously by the council states that “circumstances of damaged mailboxes are unintentional and unintended, yet nevertheless occur due to the conditions of weather and winter.”
This policy covers mailboxes and related structures.
“The Town will only reimburse for/or replace a mailbox or related structure (at its discretion) if its vehicle or equipment directly impact the box and/or pole,” the ordinance states.
Those mailboxes and/or related structures “must conform to United Postal Service specifications and be erected properly so as not to impede the normal tasks of the Street Department,” the law says.
Total reimbursement in each instance can’t exceed $75.
To be considered for reimbursement, a resident or business owner must complete a complaint form and claim letter and submit them to Clerk-Treasurer Rick Anderson’s office.
The ordinance became effective on Tuesday after all the council members and Rick Anderson had signed it.
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