Shelby County Commissioner Robbie Hayes said the federal government dictates zip code assignments, not county leadership.

“The idea we can’t get a zip code for this area because of consolidation doesn’t make sense,” Hayes said.

McLaughlin said Westover has a unique zip code for post office boxes, but not for routes within the city limits.

The Westover Post Office has no route to service the city.

“If we had our own routes here and didn’t have to drive to get packages, the business at this post office would grow,” Bennett said.

Williams said the average route services 200 dwellings.

“The way we’re going, we’re not putting in a route for one office,” Williams said. “We’re probably going to merge the facilities. We’re more into merging than adding something to it.”

State Rep. Mike Hill, R-Columbiana, said reducing hours in a “growth area” like Westover is a “travesty.”

“When we move out of this recession, this place is going to explode,” Hill said. “If you cut the hours back, it’ll take forever to expand those hours back. I wish (the postal service) would reconsider the growth areas because they’re going to need them more and more.

“You’ve got them destined to lose when they’re going to be one of the largest cities in the county in the next 10 years,” he added. “I know there are some areas where this needs to happen, but this is a growth area.”

Williams said higher levels of postal service leadership would make the “major decisions” in regards to the post office.

“It’s my job to be your voice to them,” he said.