Pillar v. Town of Groton
Pillar v. Town of Groton
Opinion of the Court
Opinion
The plaintiffs
The trial court found the following facts. On June 25, 1996, the Groton town council held a special meeting. Present at that meeting were council members Dolores E. Hauber, Lori N. Bartinik, Jane S. Dauphinais, Frank O’Beirne, Jr., Bernard W. Steadman and Harry Watson. At that meeting, the council set a date for a public hearing for an ordinance appropriating $450,000 for additions and improvements to the Shennecossett golf course (golf course bond ordinance) and referred those proposed improvements to the planning commission in accordance with the town charter and state statutes. Also at the same meeting, the council set a public hearing for an ordinance appropriating $10,388,000 for additions and improvements to the water pollution control authority (sewer bond ordinance) and referred those proposed improvements to the planning commission in accordance with the town charter and state statutes.
Steadman, who participated in the special meeting on June 25, 1996, was not a resident of Groton on that date. The trial court found that “[n]o member of the Town Council was clearly aware of the fact that Bernard W. Steadman was not a resident of Groton on June 25, 1996, nor did the members of the Town Council have sufficient time to conduct a thorough investigation in response to the information obtained by them after reading The [New London] Day article published on June 23, 1996,” two days before the special meeting.
The plaintiffs brought the present action, seeking temporary and permanent injunctions prohibiting the defendants from implementing the golf course and the sewer bond ordinances.
We begin by noting that “[t]he charter or statute by which the municipality is created is its organic act. Neither the corporation nor.its officers can do any act, make any contract, or incur any liability not authorized thereby, or by the legislative act applicable thereto. All acts beyond the scope of the powers granted are void. Thus, in the exercise of its powers, a municipal corporation is said to be confined to the circumference of those granted and may not travel beyond the scope of its charter or in excess of the granted authority.” (Emphasis in original; internal quotation marks omitted.) Highgate Condominium Assn. v. Watertown Fire District, 210 Conn. 6, 16-17, 553 A.2d 1126 (1989). “[W]here the town charter prescribes a particular procedure by which a specific act is to be done or a power is to be performed, that procedure must be followed for the act to be lawful.” Miller v. Eighth Utilities District, 179 Conn. 589, 594, 427 A.2d 425 (1980).
According to the plaintiffs, the golf course bond and the sewer bond ordinances are invalid because there was no quorum at the June 25, 1996 special meeting. The plaintiffs rely on § 4.4 of the Groton town charter,
The defendants argue, however, that they have complied with all of the steps necessary to pass a valid ordinance that are contained in General Statutes § 7-157
Section 4.6 of the Groton town charter outlines the steps necessary for the passage of a valid ordinance, specifying the publication and public hearing requirements. The trial court was presented with evidence that the town of Groton complied with all of these steps and, on the basis of that evidence, concluded that “the required public hearings have been duly noticed and held, the matters have been referred and approved by the planning commission, the ordinances have been adopted by legal votes of the town council and the representative town meeting, and the final decision on the matter will be made by the public at the ballot box on November 5.”
Specifically, § 4.6 provides in relevant part that “[a]t least one public hearing, notice of which shall be given at least five (5) days in advance by publication of the proposed ordinance in a daily newspaper having circulation within said town, shall be held by the town council before any ordinance shall be passed . . . .” The trial court was presented with the following evidence. On July 3, 1996, in accordance with § 4.6, notices of the proposed ordinances were published in the New London Day. On July 16, 1996, public hearings were held on the proposed ordinances. According to the minutes of the July 16, 1996 meeting, after the public
Section 4.6 further provides in relevant part that “[n]otice of the passage of an ordinance shall be published once in a daily newspaper having circulation in the town.” The trial court was presented with the following evidence. On August 21, 1996, notice of passage of both ordinances was published in the New London Day. The sewer bond ordinance, however, was further required to be approved by referendum pursuant to § 8.12 of the Groton town charter.
On the basis of those facts, we agree with the conclusion of the trial court that the ordinances in question
The judgment is affirmed.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
The plaintiffs, John Pillar, Clyde W. Burrell, Jr., and Dennis Gagnon, are citizens, residents, taxpayers and voters of the town of Groton.
The defendants are the town of Groton, the Groton town council, Groton town council members Dolores E. Hauber, Rose Marie Althuis, Lori N. Bartinik, Jane S. Dauphinais, Catherine Kolnaski, Frank O’Beime, Jr., Harry Watson and Chaz Zezulka III, Groton town manager Robert P. LeBlanc, and Groton town clerk Barbara Tarbox.
The trial court found that most of the members of the Groton town council had read an article that appeared in the New London Day on June 23, 1996, which contained the following paragraph: “Steadman is divorced with two grown children. He has been living with friends in Stonington since January 1st, when he sold his house on Dogwood Lane in Mystic.”
Specifically, the plaintiffs claimed, inter alia: “1. A temporary and permanent ¡injunction prohibiting and restraining the defendants from implementing or issuing bonds and notes in the sum of $450,000.00 for Shennecossett Golf Course improvements.
“2. A temporary and permanent injunction prohibiting and restraining the defendants from implementing an ordinance appropriating $10,388,000.00 for additions and improvements to the Water Pollution Control Facility and a sewer system evaluation study and authorizing the issue of bonds and notes in the same amount to defray said appropriations.
“3. A temporary and permanent ipjunction prohibiting and restraining the defendant Town Clerk from authenticating any action of the Town Council unless said action by the Town Council was enacted at a meeting duly held in accordance with the provisions of the Town Charter.”
Section 4.4, entitled “Meetings; quorum; ordinances and resolutions to be confined to one subject; records,” provides as follows: “At the first meeting of the council following the general town election the council shall fix the time and place of its regular meetings and shall provide a method for
General Statutes § 7-157, entitled “Publication. Referendum. Publication of Summary,” provides in relevant part: “(a) Ordinances may be enacted by the legislative body of any town, city, borough or fire district. Any such ordinance so enacted, except when enacted at a town or district meeting, shall become effective thirty days after publication thereof in some newspaper having a circulation in the municipality in which it was enacted, provided, upon a petition of not less than fifteen per cent of the electors of such municipality filed with the town or borough clerk, as the case may be, within thirty days after the publication of such ordinance, asking that the same be submitted to the voters of such municipality at its next regular or special meeting, it shall beso submitted and in such event shall not become effective unless a majority of the voters voting at such meeting vote in favor thereof. Any ordinance enacted at a town or district meeting shall become effective fifteen days after publication thereof in some newspaper having a circulation
Section 4.6 of the Groton town charter, entitled “Public hearing and publication of ordinances,” provides in relevant part: “4.6.1 General. At least one public hearing, notice of which shall be given at least five (5) days in advance by publication of the proposed ordinance in a daily newspaper having circulation within said town, shall be held by the town council before any ordinance shall be passed, except an ordinance relating to appointments or designations of officers or to the town council or its procedures. Every ordinance, after passage, shall be given a serial number and be recorded by the town clerk in a book to be kept for that purpose, which shall be properly indexed. Notice of the passage of an ordinance shall be published once in a daily newspaper having circulation in the town. Said notice shall include the title, serial number and complete text of the ordinance, except that if so directed by the town council a description of the ordinance prepared by the town attorney may be substituted for the complete text. Every ordinance, unless it shall specify a later date, shall become effective on the forty-fourth day after publication of the aforesaid notice of passage except any ordinance which requires for passage affirmative action by the town council and the representative town meeting shall become effective on publication of the aforesaid notice. A referendum ordinance passed by the town council and the representative town meeting shall become effective upon approval by a majority of the qualified voters of the town voting at a referendum election. Upon a petition of not less than five (5) percent of the electors of the Town of Groton, filed with the town clerk within forty-four (44) days after publication of any ordinance, asking that the same be submitted to the electors of said Town of Groton at its next regular election or at a special election, it shall be so submitted. Such ordinance shall remain effective unless a majority of the electors voting on such ordinance equal to at least fifteen (15) percent of the electors listed on the last registry list vote against such ordinance. This section shall not apply to any ordinance for which a referendum right exists under any other provision of the Groton Town Charter. The town council shall require the town clerk to mail to each member of the representative town meeting a copy of each ordinance as proposed or adopted by the town council within five (5) business days after filing with the town clerk’s office.”
The trial court rendered its decision on October 31, 1996, denying the injunction. The referendum passed at the November 5, 1996 election.
Section 8.12 of the Groton town charter, entitled “Borrowing,” provides: “The town shall have the power to incur indebtedness by issuing its bonds or notes as provided by the general statutes subject to the limitations thereof and the provisions of this section. The issuance of bonds and notes shall be authorized by ordinance and if any such bond or issuance of notes, except notes in anticipation of taxes to be paid or other revenue to be received within the fiscal year in which issued, shall exceed when authorized the sum of seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($750,000.00) or which shall, when added to all other bond issues or issuance of notes previously authorized in the same fiscal year bring the total of such bond issues or issuance of notes authorized for that fiscal year to a sum in excess of seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($750,000.00), said bond issue or issuance of notes shall be approved by referendum vote on voting machines at any regular town, state or special election or at a referendum called for that purpose.”
Reference
- Full Case Name
- JOHN PILLAR v. TOWN OF GROTON
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published