Charter panel approves four sets of minutes, advances mailing plan

Other Committee · Meeting of February 12, 2026

New Canaan charter panel approves four sets of minutes, refines survey mailing plan. The Charter Revision Commission's Group 2 subcommittee, with members Kathleen Corbett, Bill Parrott and Jennifer, voted unanimously to approve minutes from four prior meetings and reviewed a printer quote of $4,582.54, including $3,139 in first-class postage, to mail charter-survey postcards to 8,323 households, down from roughly 14,000 registered voters after Corbett combined shared addresses. The commission's survey has drawn about 50 responses so far.

Members also recommended lengthening Conservation Commission terms from two to three years and continued sorting out which town boards, including the fire commission and town treasurer, have no formal reporting line in the charter. "We went down from 14,000, plus or minus, to 8,323," Corbett said of the mailing list.

In the full story:

• The complete report — 957 words

Source: the Other Committee meeting of February 12, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

The Full Article

NEW CANAAN — February 12, 2026 — The Charter Revision Commission's Group 2 subcommittee approved minutes from four prior meetings Thursday and moved closer to mailing postcards promoting its public charter survey to roughly 8,323 New Canaan households, even as members flagged gaps in who several town boards and commissions formally answer to.

Commission members Kathleen Corbett, Bill Parrott and Jennifer met for the 8:30 a.m. session; Russ Kimes was absent for a scheduled test. The group also reviewed draft language on the Conservation Commission and continued working through open questions on the fire commission, ethics board and board of finance articles ahead of interviews later in the day with Kelly Lens, Tucker Murphy and Alex Snyder of the Zoning Board of Appeals.

The Full Story

Corbett told the group she has been soliciting quotes from Norwalk-area printers for a two-sided postcard mailing that would direct residents to the commission's charter survey by QR code. To trim costs, she cross-referenced the town's registered voter list and combined voters who share a last name and address into single households, cutting the mailing list from roughly 14,000 names to 8,323. One printer quoted about $5,000; a second vendor, referred to in the meeting as Minute Man, later returned a combined printing-and-postage estimate of $4,582.54, including $3,139 for first-class postage on 8,400 pieces. Using that vendor would also let the commission mail under the printer's existing postal permit rather than obtain its own.

Jennifer reported the survey has drawn about 50 responses so far, a number Corbett said has not moved much in recent weeks. Members agreed not to push the mailing out immediately, saying public understanding of the charter itself needs to grow first, through newspaper coverage, public speaking events and outreach to groups including the Lapham Community Center and the New Canaan Library. They also discussed extending the survey's original March 15 deadline to capture responses both before and after the postcards go out.

On substance, the commission worked through the status of several charter articles. Article 2, covering elected and appointed town officers, needs only minor edits, members said, though they are still debating whether to create a standalone article for the town treasurer, separate from the town clerk's existing article. Article 5, covering the board of finance, remains in progress; members again discussed whether the sewer taxing district and the Water Pollution Control Authority belong in that article or should instead be addressed by ordinance or folded into a future utilities commission. On article 8, covering the fire commission, members said interviews are complete and only minor edits remain, alongside an outstanding question of whether the commission should have three or five members and a grievance-procedure section they expect help drafting from Cheryl Jones in human resources.

Members also reviewed the Conservation Commission article, a shorter section largely unchanged since it was added to the charter after the last revision roughly a decade ago. The only substantive change members floated was lengthening commission members' terms from two years to three. On the town employees and ethics board article, already reviewed, the main change under consideration is adding two alternate positions to the ethics board.

A recurring theme was the absence of clear reporting lines for several town bodies. Jennifer has been building an updated organizational chart, color-coded to show which reporting relationships actually appear in the charter, after members learned the fire commission believes it reports to the Board of Selectmen despite no such language existing in the charter text.

"What I'm trying to avoid going forward into the future is you look at the bottom of this chart, the board of education is separate and untouchable, and I just don't think all these other boxes... should be separate and untouchable." — Bill Parrott, commission member

"We went down from 14,000, plus or minus, to 8,323." — Kathleen Corbett, commission member, on the household mailing list

The Full Story continued: Members approved minutes from four earlier sessions during the meeting: a February 5 morning administrative meeting, a February 9 meeting with board of finance members, a January 29 meeting with the fire chief, assistant fire chief, fire marshal and ethics board, and a February 5 afternoon meeting. All four passed on voice votes with no recorded opposition.

Why It Matters

The commission's work will shape a ballot question New Canaan voters could eventually see on changes to town governance, including whether officials such as the treasurer are elected or appointed, term limits, and which boards report to which town officials. The survey and mailing are the commission's main tool for gathering public input before it finalizes recommendations; members want responses from both before and after residents receive information about specific proposals. The full Charter Revision Commission meets February 17, when members expect an update from the town attorney on term limits, the town seal and a possible hybrid elected-appointed model, along with any remaining input from board of finance and town council members before the group moves toward drafting formal recommendations.

Key Motions & Votes

- Vote: Approve draft minutes of the February 5 8:30 a.m. meeting Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Approve draft minutes of the February 9 meeting with board of finance members Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Approve draft minutes of the January 29 meeting with the fire chief, assistant fire chief, fire marshal and ethics board Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Approve draft minutes of the February 5 afternoon meeting Tally: Approved unanimously - Action: Recommend increasing Conservation Commission member terms from two to three years — Referred to full Charter Revision Commission for February 17 discussion

Source

Town Of New Canaan: Charter Revision Commission, Group 2 meeting, February 12, 2026