Local Government in Connecticut

by Frank B. Connolly, Roger L Kemp, Rob Schenck

Overview

Originally published in 1992 and revised in 2001, Frank B. Connolly's Local Government in Connecticut is one of the most useful and well-established resources on the state's local government. Written expressly for public officials and students, the book explains Connecticut's basic forms of local government and its many variants, as well as examining their inner workings, including governance, management, administration, municipal services, education, and land use. This new edition has been entirely revised, expanded, and updated, with new chapters on charter revision, municipal employees and unionization, education, homeland security and local government, pensions, and economic development. It includes references to key sections of the Connecticut General Statutes. This unique and indispensable resource for the state is published in cooperation with the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780819574022
Publisher:	Wesleyan University Press
Publication date:	02/20/2025
Series:	The Driftless Connecticut Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	234
File size:	5 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Frank B. Connolly is an active participant in local government. He has held numerous municipal positions, including as a town manager and a school business official, in several Connecticut municipalities and written articles for Connecticut Magazine, Connecticut Government, and several newspapers. He lives in Portland, Connecticut.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

What Is Local Government in Connecticut?

It is nearly impossible for anyone to leave home and travel for a few miles without coming across some aspect of local government at work. Indeed, local-government services have become such a part of our daily lives we hardly recognize that they are there!

If local government ceased to exist, however, you couldn't help but notice its absence. Students from kindergarten to twelfth grade would suddenly have no place to go. It would be summer year-round! No school busses, no crossing guards. But wait: no school means no school sports, no clubs. What would kids do all day? And what happens if one wants to enter the military, apply for a job, or go to college? No school, no diploma, no job.

When it's time to go to the park and play — an ugly scene would greet the would-be players. No one is taking care of the park. It is so overgrown with weeds that one cannot even find first base. The outfield looks like it is ready to be harvested. The adjacent community pool is no better. It is green with slimy algae, and all kinds of something growing in it. Ugh! The fence around it has dangerous rips in it. The black walkway to the pool is broken up from the previous winter's frost, a twisted ankle waiting to happen. Bathrooms are closed, and there are no showers, no lifeguards. The basketball court is chained and locked, the remnants of basketball nets hanging off sagging rims. Discouraged, the players head home. The last of the sun's rays gradually reveal dark streets — no streetlights! But why? After all, electricity is provided by a public utility, isn't it?

But what about the businesses in town? Has the closing of local government affected the restaurants and local businesses? They are not government, indeed they often complain about the local property taxes and how the town government is not run like a business. The movie theaters — they must be open, they are not run by the government either. And the department stores, they have to be open, after all, they are in business to make money!

A trip down Main Street reveals otherwise. The fast-food establishment has posted a notice it is closed; their toilets cannot flush. One of the neighborhood kids commented it was just as well, since his brother had become ill on the poor food, apparently due to the lack of the restaurant inspections by the town's health officer. The movie theater has a message on its marquee, "Closed — our fire alarm system is not able to contact anyone."

One of the first-graders, thrilled by no school, steps out between some parked cars and is suddenly hit by a car. Call 911! No answer. The 911 system is part of the town's emergency operations center for police, fire, and ambulance. A call is placed to a private ambulance company, which dispatches an ambulance to transport the child to the hospital, which, in this case, is not operated by local government (although other parts of the state do have hospitals operated by local government).

Back at home, a call is placed to a local plumber since the toilets have started to back up. The reply is grim; the local sewage plant that treats the raw sewage has been shut down. To make matters worse, a bulletin on TV and radio, and messages on smartphones, warn people to boil water before using it since there is a question about its quality and purity.

The local bank on the corner is suddenly held up by two burglars, and the manager hits the alarm, but there is no response. The local-government police force no longer exists. The state police offer to respond, acknowledging it may take an hour or two to get there.

The next morning the nightmare continues. The trash put out the night before is still on the curb. No trash pickup! Some residents then pack the trash bags into their cars and drive to the local landfill. To their dismay, the sagging sign on the rusty gate reads Closed. The return trip to their home is complicated by a sudden severe rainstorm. The streets become flooded and the storm drains have stopped functioning; they are clogged with debris from the storm. Who is there to call?

The list goes on and on. An uneasy feeling starts to settle in all over the community. Is it safe to live here? Can we continue to live in our houses? Who will collect the leaves in the streets in the fall? Will the roads get plowed? What can we do about the darn dog that was barking all night? Isn't there anyone to help the family down the street whose single mother just lost her job and is trying to house and feed two children?

And this is just the start of living without town services!

In the long run, what will happen to the value of homes? Can they be sold?

Who will buy? Concern is expressed that everything could be lost.

These examples may seem a little extreme — but are they? Each of the services — schools, police, fire, 911, sewage, parks, trash, streetlights — are managed, carried out, or paid for by local government. Without local government, the quality of life declines rapidly. Even a partial slowdown of town services can have a disastrous effect.

These examples are the immediate effect, but there is more. Local government is responsible for the long-term planning of the municipality's growth and development. Planning, zoning, subdivisions, wetlands — all are under the control of local government.

Of the three levels of government — federal, state, and local — clearly it is local government that affects our daily lives the most. Local government is not a remote federal agency making a decision on foreign policy, or a faraway state agency addressing a deficit or some other problem; the local is the level of government that is most accessible. Local government allows citizens the greatest amount of interaction, input, and in many cases, has the greatest amount of immediate impact.

Local government is all around us, and its influence is almost impossible to escape. Its local officials are your neighbors — you see them in the supermarket, at local sport events, in church or in the synagogue — and they are readily accessible. Registering a complaint or suggesting an improvement is easy; it does not involve a call to a person you may not know in Hartford or in Washington — it means talking to your neighbor. A simple call to your local town official or attending a meeting at town hall addresses the issue.

The following chapters explain how local government operates on a day-to-day basis — how it is created, maintained, and what services it provides. Insights are provided on details that are often unknown to the general public. The relationship of local governments to state government is explained (the towns are actually creatures of the state!). Also covered are regional agencies as well as the role of the federal government in Washington, D.C., and its impact at the local level.

The chapters will allow the reader to examine his or her own local government, its structure, its services, and can also assist in evaluating its operations.

Chapter Summary

Local government is all around us, and it affects our daily lives in ways we are not even cognizant about. Education, 911, street lighting, sewage treatment plants, restaurant inspections, parks and recreation, housing, barking dogs, traffic lights, trash removal — the list is long. Local government is immediate; it is not in Washington, D.C., or in the state capital. It is run by many volunteers who donate their time to make the community a better place to live.

Key Words

911 Designated phone number that connects to the local emergency center that receives citizens' calls and dispatches fire, police, or ambulance as needed. It is manned twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Sewage plant The facility that treats all the wastewater coming from houses and businesses. This includes the waste flow from toilets, sinks, showers, and any other plumbing fixture that discharges into the wastewater steam.

CHAPTER 2

Forms of Local Government

The United States Constitution sets forth the laws covering only the federal and the state governments. Towns and cities are never even mentioned! Towns and cities, commonly referred to as municipalities, exist because the state says they can exist. They receive their powers from the state, and therefore, they frequently are called children of the state.

The fact is that more than half of the 169 municipalities in the state of Connecticut were founded well before the United States became the United States! The oldest include Windsor (1633), Wethersfield (1634), Hartford (1635), Deep River (1635), New Haven (1638), Old Saybrook (1654), and many others. Most municipalities are towns rather than cities. There is no rule or formula that determines when a town becomes a city; it is a local choice. Thus we have the city of Ansonia, population 19,249, and the town of West Hartford, population 63,268. Generally speaking however, the larger communities are cities (see appendix G). There are 21 municipalities with the designation of city.

Connecticut's local governments vary considerably in size. It is often asked how and why the small towns even exist. For example, there is Connecticut's smallest town, Union, established in 1734 and with a current population of 854. It does not even have a bank or a post office! The first Connecticut census in 1756 showed the population of Union at 500. Thus, it has grown by 354 people over a 256-year span, or roughly an increase of 1.4 people per year!

Union is followed by Canaan, which was established in 1739. It has a population of 1,234, down considerably from its iron-industry heyday in the 1800s when iron furnaces ran twenty-four hours a day. In 2010, there were 11 towns in the state with a population of less than 2,000 residents, each town with its own government.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT?

Local government exists

• to deliver services;

• to provide responsible fiscal management;

• to be responsive to citizen's problems and issues;

• to work with federal and state government; and

• to provide education, police, fire, building-safety inspections, record keeping, recreation, public works, and public health services.

On the other end is Bridgeport, Connecticut's largest city. Located on Long Island Sound, it was incorporated in 1836, and has a population of 144,229. Home of the Barnum Museum, it has the only zoo in Connecticut, the Beardsley Zoo. Bridgeport is one of the five cities in the state with a population of more than 100,000. The others are New Haven, Hartford, Stamford, and Waterbury.

HIGHLIGHTS OF HOME RULE

Residents have the right to determine what form of local government they want.

The state allows cities and towns to adopt their own charters.

• The charter is the "constitution" of the municipality.

• The towns and cities are created by the state.

• A charter commission is required to adopt or change a charter.

• For approval, a simple majority is required on a regular ballot or 15 percent rule on a special ballot (see chapter 6 for details).

Home Rule

In Connecticut, each municipality has the right to choose to operate under the state's general laws, called "general statutes," or to adopt its own charter. A charter is the basic law of the municipality; it is its "constitution." If a municipality adopts its own charter, then that becomes the governing law. The municipality then operates under its own constitution. If the municipality does not adopt its own charter, then it operates under the state's home-rule statutes. The Home Rule Act allows a municipality to govern itself by choosing its own form of government, which 112 municipalities have chosen to do. Home rule also allows the city or town to change the form of government it may have adopted if the municipality follows a specific but quite lengthy process.

The municipal charter sets forth the structure or organization of the local government and the powers that may be exercised in the name of the town or city. These powers may be executed through ordinances or resolutions adopted by the local governing body. The town or city attorney is responsible for advising and representing the governing body and all of its boards and commissions on legal matters to ensure that there is compliance with the municipality's own charter as well as with state and federal law.

Article I of the Newington town charter illustrates this relationship with the state. Here is the opening section of the charter of Newington (a suburb between the cities of Hartford and New Britain). Notice the reference to its incorporation as a town, as well as the recognition of the powers and privileges conferred to it by the state.

Article I. INCORPORATION AND GENERAL POWERS

§ C-101. Incorporation.

All the inhabitants dwelling within the territorial limits of the Town of Newington, as heretofore constituted, shall continue forever hereafter to be a body politic and corporate under the name "Town of Newington," hereinafter called "the Town," and as such shall have perpetual succession and may hold and exercise all the powers and privileges heretofore exercised by the Town and not inconsistent with the provisions of this Charter, the additional powers and privileges herein conferred, and all powers and privileges conferred upon towns under the laws of the State of Connecticut.

Thus, home rule is the power of a town or city to govern itself. In Connecticut most of the 169 municipalities have adopted their own charter (figure 2-1). If a municipality does not adopt its own charter, it then operates under the state's general statutes, with a selectmen/town meeting form of government.

Over the years the state statutes and the state's constitution have been changed to strengthen this right of municipalities to govern themselves. The 1957 Home Rule Act formally confirmed the power of each municipality to govern itself in local matters. In 1965, the state constitution was amended with Article Ten, Section 1, which reads as follows:

Sect. 1 The general assembly shall by general law delegate such legislative authority as from time to time it deems appropriate to towns, cities and boroughs relative to the powers, organization, and form of government of such political subdivisions. The general assembly shall from time to time by general law determine the maximum terms of the various town, city and borough elective offices. After July 1, 1969, the general assembly shall enact no special legislation relative to the power, organization, terms of elective office or forms of government or any single town, city or borough, except as to (a) borrowing power, (b) validation acts, and (c) formations, consolidation or dissolution of any town, city or borough, unless in the delegations of legislative authority by general law the general assembly shall have failed to prescribe the powers necessary to effect the purpose of such special legislation.

Each municipality must have a legislative and an executive branch. Examples of legislative bodies include boards of aldermen, town councils, town meetings, and legislative councils. Examples of executive branch are mayor, first selectman, and town manager.

In the 57 municipalities that operate under the general statutes (non-charter) (see figure 2-1), the local legislative body is the town meeting, with a board of selectmen serving as the executive branch. These towns are mostly in the eastern and western sections of the state. The town meeting is composed of all residents who are of voting age and show up at the meeting to vote. A charter municipality may provide for some or all of the legislative functions to be exercised by a smaller legislative body, such as a town council, board of aldermen, or representative town meeting. The charter identifies powers, such as the adoption of the annual budget, bonding, special appropriations, and the position of the chief executive officer. The home-rule statutes allow the municipality to decide for itself how the power is to be delegated.

Non-charter municipalities have the executive branch vested in the board of selectmen, composed of three members. One of them is the first selectman, who is the chief executive officer (CEO) of the municipality. He or she has the additional power necessary to make the day-to-day decisions to run the city or town.

In a chartered town or city, the CEO is the mayor, first selectman, or town manager. The charter will explicitly spell out who is the CEO. Some towns provide for an administrative officer to assist the mayor or first selectman, and this person is called the chief administrative officer (CAO). He or she is limited in power, and the position is not the same as a town manager.

As noted earlier, a town can adopt its own charter. This involves appointment of a charter commission. Towns and cities can also change or revise the form of government they already have, and this requires a charter revision commission. The process for either scenario is similar, and is delineated in chapter 6. The state statutes spell out very specific steps and time frames for adopting or revising a charter that must be adhered to carefully. The process can take up to two years, starting with the appointment of the commission and followed by required hearings, referrals, and eventually a referendum in which all of the eligible residents can vote. The vote can be on the regular November ballot or in a special election.

In following the charter adoption or charter revision process, towns have to meet certain minimum requirements, such as identifying the position of the chief executive officer, the legislative body, how the budget is to be prepared and adopted, and other specific governmental functions. Municipalities without a charter operate under the general statutes with a board of selectmen and a town meeting.

Figure 2-2 illustrates the three basic forms of local government in Connecticut and New England. There are numerous variations in these three basic forms. For example, many towns have a separate board of finance, which is empowered to make important financial decisions for the municipality. Other towns choose not to have a board of finance, since, depending upon the charter, the board can diminish the powers of the executive branch. A board of finance's decision may be subject to approval by a town meeting or other legislative body, be simply advisory, or, in some cases, be the final word on some issues. For example, if the town council decides to create a new park, the board of finance can stop it by not approving funds. Or, if the board of selectmen wants to create a new position for a police officer or public works employee in the annual budget, the board of finance can say no. In effect, the board of finance's powers can be part executive and part legislative. These boards can play a powerful role in the administration of the town or city. The exercise of this power can also vary greatly, depending upon the personalities involved.

(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Local Government in Connecticut"
by .
Copyright © 2013 Frank B. Connolly.
Excerpted by permission of Wesleyan University Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
What Is Local Government in Connecticut?
Forms of Local Government
Who Runs These Governments?
Key Local Government Officials and Their Roles
State Government vs. Local Government
Charter Revision Process
Municipal Employees and Unionization
Federal Government's Role in Local Government
Some Nuts and Bolts of the Local Government Process (or How Business Is Transacted at the Local-Government Level in Connecticut)
Where Does the Money Come From?
Where Does the Money Go?
Public Safety: Police, Fire, Emergency Medical Services
Homeland Security and Emergency Management
Public Works
Land Use: Planning and Zoning, Wetlands and Watercourses
Risk Management in Local Government
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Local Government
Health and Human Services
Municipal Clerk
Education: Function, Role, Relationship to Town
Technology in Local Government and Education
Other Local-Governmental Officials
Two-Year Political and Financial Calendar
Public and Private Utilities
Economic Development at the Local Level
Regionalization
Freedom of Information Laws and Ethics
Basics of Municipal and Educational Pensions
Public Policy in Local Government
Careers in Local Government
APPENDIXES
Abbreviations and Acronyms
Key Associations Involved with Connecticut Local Government •Regional Planning Organizations (RPOs) and Map of Counties
Higher Education in Connecticut
Municipal Forms of Government in Connecticut as of 2013; List of Chartered and Non-Chartered Towns and Cities
Municipal Populations, Revaluation Dates, Town Code Numbers
Map of Towns and Cities
Partial List of Connecticut General Statutes for Municipalities
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

"If there be any doubts that Connecticut residents should take city and town affairs seriously, then the new edition of Local Government in Connecticut should dispel them...The latest version of Local Government offers a very complete textbook on modern city and town administration in our state."—Donald W. Rogers, Connecticut History Review

From the Publisher