Newkirk Confronts Postal Issues as 40% Miss Utility Bills, Considers Electronic Delivery

NEWKIRK- (KOKH) — In a report put out on June 10th by Newkirk City Manager Ryan Smykil, concerns were addressed about 40% of the town’s citizens not receiving their utility bills.

Smykil said in light of the situation, the city has filed a complaint with the United States Postal Service office of Consumer Affairs and the office of the Inspector General.

The report also said that usually, bills are transferred to Tulsa for sorting, but that the sorting center is being closed down for retooling, and that sorting at the local post office isn’t possible; meaning bills will now be sent to Oklahoma City for sorting.

FOX 25 asked some residents about the situation.

One resident we spoke with who did not wish to be named or go on camera said this isn’t a recent development, and that his bill has been coming in late for the last year, saying that it’s not really a problem for him since he has auto pay.

However, he said it is a problem for his grandmother, who doesn’t have automatic payments set up, and people like her. He also added postage will cost more since mail is being sorted in OKC.

The report concluded that given the circumstances, the city is looking into delivering utility bills electronically and by-passing mail altogether, saying that it is not a responsible use of people’s money to continue to spend ever-increasing amounts to mail bills that aren’t delivered. They reached out to the city manager for further comment but were told he was out of the office.