Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Tacoma’s new postmaster describes operations, dog-bite prevention and July job fair plans
Summary
Damon Coquillette, Tacoma’s new postmaster, outlined the post office’s local operations and safety practices for carriers, reported 17 dog-bite incidents this year, and said the post office will host a job fair at a festival on July 26.
Damon Coquillette, who recently became Tacoma’s postmaster, described the local U.S. Postal Service operation and highlighted carrier safety and hiring outreach during a TV Tacoma interview.
Coquillette said the Tacoma delivery operation includes about 290 delivery routes and 13 retail units. He said the office covers more than 200,000 delivery points across the broader Tacoma-area service area (including Parkland, Lakewood and University Place), and that the local operation has a budget of roughly $54,000,000 and about 540 employees.
On safety, Coquillette said this year the office has recorded 17 dog-bite incidents in Tacoma. He described training and tools carriers use to reduce risk, including using the mailbag as a shield, carrying dog spray, rattling keys to deter dogs and programming known-dog locations into GPS-enabled scanners so carriers receive alerts before approaching certain addresses. He recounted a recent case where a carrier was bitten when a customer approached the carrier holding a dog and the animal bit the carrier’s arm.
Coquillette also said the post office plans to staff a tent and hold hiring outreach at a large festival on July 26 (referred to on the program as “NoahFest”); he described the Postal Service as offering stable, long-term jobs and said recruiting can serve openings both locally and nationwide.
Why it matters: Postal operations and carrier safety affect daily services for residents and businesses. The postmaster’s account provides local data on delivery scale, staffing, budget and safety incidents.
