New Canaan commission votes to mail roughly 8,400 postcards to solicit charter input

The Town of New Canaan Charter Revision Commission voted Feb. 24 to authorize mailing a postcard to roughly 8,400 household addresses to solicit public input on proposed charter changes.

Commissioner Jennifer Jamieson, who researched vendors and mailing lists, told the commission the mailing list was reduced from 14,803 active voters to about 8,393 households by combining shared-address registrations. She presented two vendor quotes that included printing and first-class postage: Minuteman quoted approximately $6,587 and G Way of Norwalk quoted $4,308.92. Jamieson said the card would include a QR code linking to the commission’s input form and that printing-to-mail typically takes about five business days.

The commission debated whether to send the postcard immediately or wait until more draft language was available. Chair Kathleen Corbett and several commissioners said voters would need clearer, issue-specific context to provide substantive responses; Corbett said the timing ‘‘is off’’ unless the card is linked to what the commission is proposing. Others argued that earlier outreach would reach households that do not follow email or news coverage.

A motion to send the postcard "within the next week" using Minuteman and the commission’s address list carried by majority voice vote. Commissioners who voiced support for sending sooner included Steve Case, Chris Labrie, Joe Palo, Russ Kimes and Judy Neville; those who said they preferred sending at a later date included Jennifer Jamieson, Kathleen Corbett, Karen Willett and Todd Lambert. Commissioners discussed a response deadline for the postcard; suggested dates included March 31 and April 3.

Cost and budget were part of the discussion. The commission’s online survey required no expense to date, and the group had budgeted $2,500 for survey work; commissioners noted that the postcard plan could push the cost into the mid‑thousands. Jamieson said she would print extras for hand distribution at town locations and expected final printing and mailing costs to be approximately $6,700 in her estimate.

The commission did not alter the approved postcard design at the meeting; members instructed staff to proceed with the vendor selected and return updates in next meeting materials. The commission also discussed how postcard responses would be incorporated into the draft report to the town council and whether results should be included in the commission’s mid‑April draft.