Lawmakers address zip code confusion in Scotland, Conn.

A small town in eastern Connecticut has not one, not two, but six different zip codes.

For years, that's what it has been like in the town of Scotland, a population of less than 1,600 people.

"There's only one section of town that has delivery that can use the Scotland zip code of 06264," Melody Savino said. "Anywhere else in town, you may be assigned one of five other zip codes and get delivery out of that post office."

Those other zip codes are from neighboring towns and villages, including Baltic, Canterbury, Hampton, Windham and Sprague.

So even though Savino lives in Scotland, her mail goes to the post office in Baltic. These fragmented mailing codes effect her in other ways, too.

"I'm a member of the local fire department, and to get ambulance supplies delivered in a timely fashion is very difficult," Savino said.

She said in order to get those supplies, she has to drive to Hampton. Savino also runs a farm and trucking business in town and regularly deals with mail getting sent to the wrong address or delays.

"As a local business owner, our mail is sometimes put in our tenants' mailbox, which is disturbing," Savino said. "Luckily, they turn it over in a timely fashion, but sometimes it's delayed in getting to us, which has been increased costs, burdens, so forth."

Scotland's former First Selectman Gary Greenberg said he tried working with the U.S. Postal Service on a solution, especially after residents were not getting their absentee ballots in a timely manner during the pandemic.

USPS said they're aware of the situation in Scotland.

"Changing a ZIP not only requires reconfiguring sort plans on equipment across the nation, but it’s a major inconvenience for the customers involved," Steve Dougherty, spokesperson for USPS, said. "Changes in ZIP codes will typically only be considered if the end result is a more efficient flow of mail."

That's why Senator Chris Murphy and Representative Joe Courtney were in Scotland Friday morning.

"Joe and I are here to announce that we are introducing one the simplest bills in our time in Congress," Murphy said.

They introduced this bill back in March and say a path forward for the town is to create one unifying zip code.

"The need for this problem to be fixed is not just a question of inconvenience, it's really about a question of fairness," Courtney said.