GENERAL LAWS

OF THE

STATE OF CONNECTICUT

CONCERNING

TAXATION AND TAXING OFFICIALS.

ELECTIONS.

1

1851.

Act, 1897, 1111.

ch. 65.

Essex, 1895, ch. 51; 1901, ch. 71.

01

ch. 85. Hartford, Sp. L. 1895, 626. 1905, ch. 128.

§ 1800. Assessors; election and terms of office. The town of Hartford, at its annual meeting in the year 1904, and Rev. 1888, § 37. triennially thereafter, and every other town except the towns of New Haven, Sp. Bridgeport, New Haven, Norwalk, Waterbury, East Hartford, Bridgeport, Sp. Act, 1889, 858. Essex, Norwich, Middletown, Glastonbury, and Torrington, at its Waterbury, 1893 annual meeting, shall elect and cause to be sworn not less than East Hartford two nor more than five assessors. The assessors elected by the 1893, ch. 79. town of Hartford shall hold office for the term of three years, Norwalk, and those elected by the towns of Meriden and New Britain for the term of one year, from the first Monday of June next succeeding their election, and until their successors shall be elected and qualified. In each of the towns of East Hartford, Norwich, Middletown, Glastonbury, and Torrington there shall be three assessors, and in each of said towns one assessor shall be elected at each annual town meeting, who shall hold office for the term of three years and until his successor shall be elected and qualified; the term of said office in East Hartford, Norwich, Glastonbury, and Torrington shall commence on the day of election; and the term of said office in Middletown shall commence on the first day of May following said election. The assessors elected by every other town shall hold their respective offices for the term of one year from the date of their election and until their successors shall be elected and qualified. No assessor shall act as a member of the board of relief.

§ 1800. Penalty to the state is not discharged by the payment of tax as on list of the previous year. 22 C. 163. Assessors are not "local police." 52 C. It is the duty of the town to appoint assessors. 22 C. 163.

214.

2

Public Acts,

3.

South Windsor assessors; election. There shall be three 1907, ch. 15, §§1, assessors in the town of South Windsor, and the town, at its annual town meeting in October, 1907, shall elect one assessor who shall hold office for the term of one year, one assessor who shall hold office for the term of two years, and one assessor who shall hold office for the term of three years; and at each annual town meeting thereafter said town shall elect one assessor who shall hold office for the term of three years. Each assessor shall hold office from the day of his election and until his successor shall be elected and qualified. Any person qualified to vote in town meeting may vote for as many persons for assessor as said meeting is required to elect under this act.

3

1852, 1877, 1887.

39.

1899, ch. 48.

§ 1802. Board of relief, selectmen, grand jurors, treas1650, 1672, 1712, urers, collectors, auditors, constables. Every town shall at Rev. 1888, $$38, its annual town meeting (unless now by special act exempted therefrom) elect a board of relief of not less than two nor more than five members, not less than three nor more than seven selectmen, not less than two nor more than six grand jurors, two auditors, and a collector of town taxes, a treasurer of the town deposit fund and of other trust funds, an agent or agents of the town deposit fund; and (except the town of Hartford) not more than seven constables. At the annual town meeting in Hartford on the first Monday of April, 1903, and quadrennially thereafter there shall be chosen seven constables, for more than four of whom no person shall vote, who shall hold office for the term of four years beginning on the first Monday of June next following their election. At its annual meeting in 1903 and biennially thereafter the town of Middletown shall elect a collector of town taxes who shall hold office for the term of two years.

§ 1802. Constable chosen and sworn, and rechosen the next year, may act, although not resworn. 1 R. 83. See 5 C. 278. A constable can be chosen only at the time or under the conditions prescribed by statute. 1 R. 136. Town officers, elected for a year, usually hold until the incumbent's place is supplied. 6 C. 438. Whether under art. 10, § 2, of the constitution, the election of one selectman, only, is lawful. 32 C. 108. Where a public duty is imposed, commensurate power is implied. 38 C. 50. The substance of the provision for choosing selectmen has been in force since 1672. 75 C. 462.

4

1878.

8 Sp. L. 195.

§ 1806. Official terms of town officers. The terms of office of all elective town officers, when not otherwise prescribed, Rev. 1888, $43. shall be for one year from the date of their election, and the terms of those appointed by the board of selectmen shall expire on the day of the annual town meeting next succeeding their appointment.

5

10 Sp. L. 858.

12 Sp. L. 1111.

§ 1807. Official terms in certain towns. All town officers 1878. elected annually in Hartford, Bridgeport, and New Haven, whose Rev. 1888, $43. terms are not specially prescribed, shall hold office as follows: those in Hartford for the term of one year from the first Monday of January following their election, those in Bridgeport for one year from the Monday following their election, and those in New Haven for one year from the first week day of June following their election.

6

Biennial election of town officers. Any town, if the electors Public Acts, thereof shall so determine by ballot at an annual meeting of 1907, ch. 227, §1. such town or at a special meeting thereof duly warned and held for that purpose, may, at the annual town meeting next thereafter held, and biennially thereafter, elect any or all town officers now required by law to be elected annually, to hold office for the term of two years from the date of their election and until their successors shall be elected and qualified.

Public Acts,

Repeal. So much of sections 1800, 1802, and 2216 of the 7 general statutes and chapter 97 of the public acts of 1905 as is 1907, ch. 227, §3 inconsistent herewith is hereby repealed, and all other acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.

§ 1808. Ballot for and appointment of town officers. Assessors, members of boards of relief, selectmen, town clerks, town treasurers, treasurers of town deposit funds and of other town trust funds, agents of town deposit funds, auditors, grand jurors, collectors of taxes, constables, registrars of voters, high school committees, school visitors, town school committees, and library directors shall be voted for by ballot; but all other town officers provided for by law shall be appointed by the board of selectmen of the several towns respectively. Any town, at a town meeting duly warned for the purpose, may pass votes determining, within the limits by law provided, the number of its officers and prescribing the mode in which they shall be voted for at subsequent meetings, but no alteration of such number shall take effect until after the adjournment of the meeting by which it was adopted.

§ 1808. Ballots bearing the title Auditor of Town Accounts," instead of "Auditor," are not invalid. 75 C. 16.

1874.

§ 1809. Plurality of votes to elect. In all elections of Rev. 1888, §45. town officers a plurality of the votes cast shall be sufficient to elect, unless it is otherwise expressly provided by law.

10 1877.

1889, ch. 14.

§ 1810. Minority representation. When the number of Rev. 1888, §46. assessors, or members of the board of relief, or selectmen, or constables, or grand jurors to be elected by any town at its annual meeting shall be two, four, or six, no person shall vote for more than one-half the number; if the number to be elected be three, no person shall vote for more than two; if the number be five, no person shall vote for more than three; if the number be seven, no person shall vote for more than four. That number of persons sufficient to fill the offices of assessors, boards of relief, selectmen, constables, or grand jurors, respectively, who have the highest number of votes shall be elected. In case of a tie, that person whose name stands first or highest on the greatest number of ballots shall be elected.

11

§ 1813. Certain offices incompatible. No selectman shall 1877, 1880, 1883. hold office of town clerk, town treasurer, or collector of town taxes Rev. 1888, §49. of the same town during the same official year; nor shall any town clerk or selectman be elected a registrar of voters; and no registrar of voters shall hold the office of town clerk.

§ 1813.

Selectman may be appointed collector, but cannot remain selectman. 66 C. 299. Selectman may not by his own vote appoint himself collector. 66 C. 294.

12

1725, 1874.

Rev. 1888, §63.

13

§ 1814. Vacancies how filled. If any town office in any town shall be vacant by the neglect of the town to elect or appoint, or the refusal of any person appointed to act, or by the death or removal of any person appointed, or from any other cause, such town, if such office is an elective office, may in legal town meeting fill the vacancy; but until the town shall fill it, such vacancy may be filled by the selectmen, and the selectmen shall fill all vacancies that may arise in offices to which they have power of appointment.

§ 1821. Assessors, board of relief, and collectors to be 1650, 1672, 1712, Sworn. Every person elected or appointed an assessor or a mem1852. ber of the board of relief, or a collector of town taxes in any town, shall, before entering upon the duties of the office to which he has been elected or appointed, be duly sworn.

Rev. 1888, §56.

1867.

§ 1822. Penalties for refusing to accept or perform 14 certain duties. Any person elected to the office of assessor and 1672, 1724, 1851, having accepted the same, who shall afterwards refuse to be sworn Rev. 1888, §57. or to perform the duties of the office, shall be fined thirty dollars; and any person elected to any other town office than that of assessor or town clerk, and accepting the same, or not declaring his refusal to accept, who shall neglect to perform the duties of the office, shall be fined not more than ten dollars; and any person elected to any town office to which he is eligible, who shall refuse to accept the same and take the oath prescribed by law, shall, unless he has reasonable excuse for such refusal, be fined five dollars; and any town clerk who shall neglect to perform the duties of his office, shall be fined not more than fifty dollars. Every moderator of a town meeting who shall neglect to make any return required by law shall be fined twenty dollars.

§ 2402. Penalty for official misconduct. paragraph 138.

See page 54,

§ 1827. Special charter provisions not affected. No provision of the general statutes shall be construed to repeal any now existing charter provision relative to the election, term of office, or powers or duties of any town or city officer, or to the manner of warning or conducting any town or city meeting or election or any electors' meeting, but the powers and duties of such officers shall be and remain as provided in such charter.

15

Rev. 1902.

ASSESSMENT OF TAXES.

Assessors' Powers and Duties.

16

1851.

§ 2296. Assessors to publish notices requiring lists. The assessors in each town, except as otherwise specially provided Rev. 1888, $3802. by law, shall on or before the fifteenth day of October annually post on the signposts therein, or publish in a newspaper published in said town, a notice requiring all persons therein, liable to pay taxes, to bring in written or printed lists of the taxable property belonging to them on the first day of October in that year.

§ 2296. Personal property in hands of executors, administrators, or trustees. 30 C. 402; 38 C. 443. Same in hands of receivers of insolvent corporations. 61 C. 112.