Editorial: Sumpter Township passes Resolution on 48111 change

A three-page Resolution, passed unanimously by the Sumpter Township Board of Trustees at Tuesday’s regular meeting, is on its way to federal officials.
The Resolution asks the U.S. Postal Service to formally restore the “Identification” of the 48111 zip code area for the Belleville Post Office Service Area to the “reference that has existed for decades which was previously known as and which should continue to be known as: Belleville, Michigan 48111.”
The Resolution also implores the USPS to notify them and discuss any future changes proposed.
Sumpter Township resident Mary Ban is smiling. She has asked her township board to protest the recent changes to the 48111 zip code that has her designated as living in Van Buren Township. She and others have had mail returned to sender and packages not delivered because of the snafu caused by VBT Clerk Leon Wright who unilaterally, without a vote of his board, got part of 48111 changed to the Van Buren Township designation as an identity move for the township.
The problem is some people who live in the City of Belleville and Sumpter Township have inadvertently been switched to VBT designation as well, affecting their prescriptions, voting, and deliveries of all sorts. It’s a mess.
Hopefully, Sumpter will help those in Washington, D.C. notice all the travail in 48111 and fix it. Hope springs eternal.