GREEN, Ohio — In one Northeast Ohio city, there are five different zip codes, tied to four different cities, and none of them represent the actual city. But, after 25 years of persistence, residents in the City of Green can now list "Green" as their official mailing address.
City of Green Mayor Rocco Yeargin received a letter from the United States Postal Service on September 12, sharing the news. Yeargin says countless city mayors have tried to tackle the complicated issue with USPS.
Green Resident Sarah Shimp said, despite living in the city for years, her mailing address always reflected something different, "I put in Uniontown, Ohio with a 44685 zip code," said Shimp.
Now, Shimp and her neighbors can list "Green" as their mailing address, without any further action.
"I live in Green, and so when someone comes to visit me, Uniontown does not sound like where I live. I like the sense of community with Green, and so, let's be Green," said Linda Rudzinski, who also lives in Green.
The mayor says the scrambled zip code system makes it difficult for people from out of town to recognize that restaurants, parks, and attractions are actually located within the city.
Yeargin says it's also a city logistics nightmare: "Every year the city of Green hires someone to collect income taxes that are paid to the wrong city."
He continued, "It isn't just about mail delivery. It's about safety, it's about tax collection, it's about cohesiveness of a community."
Mail will still be delivered to families' former mailing addresses in Akron, North Canton, Clinton, or Uniontown. Both mailing addresses are now considered valid by USPS.
Little by little, Yeargin said, databases like GPS systems and online searches should start to reflect the city's name too, "It should be reflected very soon on all the databases, and we won't have to explain to everybody why our address is different than our actual location."
The city is one of 65 cities across the country that is asking the United States Senate to take up a bill passed in the House, which would provide the city with a unified zip code.
"We're big enough now I feel like we should have our own zip code, Green, Ohio, not just Uniontown," said Shimp.
Yeargin said the city is working with Senators Bernie Moreno and Jon Husted, and providing them with residents' experience with the scrambled zip codes.
"After 25 years, I mean that's part of the excitement of this is that we're finally at that place where we're like, okay, we can use our own name for all instances in which address is appropriate. Now, we actually have a chance to get that unified zip code number," said Yeargin.
If you have a story to share with lawmakers about the zip code issue, call 330-896-6602 or email: klavaco@cityofgreen.org
For now, residents are excited to have their hometown pride reflected in their addresses. "It's a great neighborhood, great community, great support," said Shimp.
