Washington ? Postmaster General John E. Potter renewed his pledge Tuesday that the price of mailing a letter won’t go up until 2006.

Potter said the agency had saved $8.3 billion in spending during the past three years and expected another $1 billion in cost cuts in 2005.

Chief Financial Officer Richard J. Strasser told the postal board of governors meeting in Boston that the result is expected to be a balanced $68 billion budget for the agency in 2005, despite declines in the volume of first-class mail and continuing high fuel costs.

Indeed, Strasser said that for the first time, first-class mail is expected to be surpassed by advertising mail as the post office feels the effects of electronic communications both for personal messages and bill paying.

Forecasts of mail volume point to a 2.1 billion piece decline in first-class mail in the coming fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1, while standard mail is expected to grow by nearly 3.8 billion pieces.

The post office delivered 99 million pieces of first class mail last year, down from 102 million the year before. At the same time standard mail totaled 90 million items, up from 87 million. Figures for this year are not yet available.

“Since 1999, the Postal Service has reduced total work hours by a cumulative 728 million,” Strasser said.

He said career postal employment today is virtually at the same level it was in 1984, just over 700,000, while mail volume has increased by 65 billion more pieces to an additional 48 million new addresses.

The amount of any 2006 rate increase remains uncertain with action stalled in Congress on changes to the law governing postal operations. The post office has been seeking more flexibility in changing rates and service and wants to be relieved of the obligation — not imposed on any other agency — of paying military retirement benefits for its workers who were formerly in the armed services.

Potter has said that without the requested changes a rate increase could be in double digits. A 10 percent hike would boost the price of stamps from 37 cents to 41 cents and a 15 percent hike could increase the cost of mailing a letter to 43 cents.

The post office does not receive a tax subsidy for its operations, though Congress does appropriate funds to pay for free mail for the blind and overseas absentee ballots and to assist the agency with anti-terrorism costs.