Connecticut shares with the five other
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
states a governmental structure known as the New England town. From 1666 to 1960, Connecticut had a system of county governments, which each had limited powers given to it by the General Assembly. They were abolished by Public Act 152 in 1960. Connecticut also had a system of sheriffs' offices until October 2000, when those were also abolished.
County
Connecticut is divided geographically into eight
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
, but these counties do not have any associated government structure. The
Connecticut General Assembly
The Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. Th ...
abolished all county governments on October 1, 1960. The counties continued to have
sheriffs until 2000, when the sheriffs' offices were abolished and replaced with
state marshals through a ballot measure attached to the
2000 presidential election. Today, counties serve as little more than boundaries for the state's judicial and state marshal system. Connecticut's court jurisdictions still adhere to the old county boundaries, with the exception of Fairfield, Hartford, and New Haven counties, which have been further subdivided into multiple court jurisdictions due to their relatively large populations.
From 1666 to 1960, "weak" county governments existed in Connecticut, where each county commission had limited powers delegated to it by the General Assembly. Each county had a 3-member County Commission, whose members were appointed by the General Assembly; plus a Sheriff who was elected by the voters in each county. Initially, county governments had authority over:
* County courts (transitioned to the State Judiciary in 1855)
* Construction and maintenance of county jails
* Resolving road disputes between towns
* Constructing and maintaining bridges to link adjacent towns
* Maintaining safe houses for neglected and/or abused children
County governments had no direct taxing authority; their funding was provided indirectly through set-asides from state and local taxes. During the first half of the 20th century, county governments were gradually phased out as the General Assembly transitioned powers from the county commissions to either the state government or to individual towns. By the time county governments were abolished by Public Act 152 in 1960, the only remaining responsibility of the county commissions was to oversee and maintain the county jails; those functions were transitioned to the state Department of Corrections or local police departments after the county commissions were disbanded.
Councils of governments
In the 1980s the legislature establishing fifteen regional councils, which cluster towns with similar demographics into an administrative planning region, instead of adhering to the old county structure. In 2014 the number of planning regions was reduced from the original fifteen to nine, as a result of four voluntary consolidations and the elimination of two planning regions.
As of 2015, the State of Connecticut recognized COGs as
county equivalents
In the United States, a county is an administrative or political subdivision of a state that consists of a geographic region with specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The term "county" is used in 48 states, wh ...
, allowing them to apply for funding and grants made available to county governments in other states. In 2019 the state recommended to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
that the nine Councils of Governments replace
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
for statistical purposes. This proposal was approved by the Census Bureau in 2022, and will be fully implemented by 2024.
Town
Unlike most other states outside of New England, where incorporated cities and towns are usually separated by unincorporated territory under the jurisdiction of a county, incorporated cities and towns encompass all of the territory within the state of Connecticut with no portion of the state being unincorporated. The 169 towns of Connecticut are the principal units of local government in the state and have full municipal powers including:
*Corporate powers
*Eminent domain
*Ability to levy taxes
*Public services (low cost housing, waste disposal, fire, police, ambulance, street lighting)
*Public works (highways, sewers, cemeteries, parking lots, etc.)
*Regulatory powers (building codes, traffic, animals, crime, public health)
*Environmental protection
*Economic development
Towns are officially creatures of the state, and their powers are set forth by statute and the state constitution. In practice, as is the case in most of New England, their authority has been very broadly construed, and there is a long-standing tradition of local autonomy.
Towns traditionally had the
town meeting
Town meeting is a form of local government in which most or all of the members of a community are eligible to legislate policy and budgets for local government. It is a town- or city-level meeting in which decisions are made, in contrast with ...
form of government, which is still used by some of the 169 towns. Under Connecticut's Home Rule Act, any town is permitted to adopt its own local
charter and choose its own structure of government. The three basic structures of municipal government used in the state, with variations from place to place, are the
selectman–town meeting,
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
–
council, and
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities ...
–council.
Nineteen towns are also
incorporated as cities; one town, (
Naugatuck
Naugatuck is a consolidated borough and town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town spans both sides of the Naugatuck River just south of Waterbury and includes the communities of Union City on the east side of the river, wh ...
) is also incorporated as a borough.
A town may
consolidate with a city or borough that is coextensive with it. The 20 consolidated borough-towns and city-towns are classified by the Census Bureau as both
minor civil divisions and
incorporated place
The United States Census Bureau defines a place as a concentration of population which has a name, is locally recognized, and is not part of any other place. A place typically has a residential nucleus and a closely spaced street pattern, and it fr ...
s, while the other 149 towns are classified only as minor civil divisions. Some of the larger, urban towns are also classified in their entirety as
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...
s.
City
All cities in Connecticut are dependent municipalities, meaning they are located within and subordinate to a town. However, except for one, all currently existing cities in Connecticut are consolidated with their parent town. Towns in Connecticut are allowed to adopt a city form of government without the need to re-incorporate as a city. Connecticut state law also makes no distinction between a consolidated town-city and a regular town.
There are currently twenty incorporated cities in Connecticut. Nineteen of these cities are coextensive with their towns, with the city and town governments also consolidated. One incorporated city (
Groton) has jurisdiction over only part of its town. All cities are treated by the Census Bureau as incorporated places regardless of the settlement pattern.
Borough
In addition to cities, Connecticut also has a type of dependent municipality known as a borough. Boroughs are usually the populated center of a town that decided to incorporate in order to have more responsive local government. When a borough is formed, it is still part of and dependent on its town. There are currently nine incorporated boroughs in Connecticut. One borough is coextensive and consolidated with its town. The other eight boroughs have jurisdiction over only a part of their town. All boroughs are treated by the Census Bureau as incorporated places. Since 1989, the Census Bureau has also listed
Groton Long Point
Groton Long Point (GLP) is located within the town of Groton, on Fishers Island Sound, in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The year-round population was 518 at the 2010 census.
The area is administered by the Groton Long Point Ass ...
as a borough even though it has not been incorporated as a borough but is only a multi-purpose special services district within the town of
Groton.
Village, neighborhood, section of town
Connecticut also has a fair number of non-incorporated communities that are known locally as villages (usually in more rural areas), neighborhoods or "sections of" a city or town. "Villages" in this local Connecticut sense have no separate legal/corporate existence from the town they are in, although a taxing district or volunteer fire department sharing the name of the village may exist for specific services. With some exceptions, people who reside within a village often identify with the town rather than the village. Some villages and named sections of towns and cities were formerly incorporated as boroughs. Some villages are associated with
historic districts which can serve to preserve some part of their more historically well preserved areas.
Some village and section names are also used as
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...
names or as the basis for naming
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...
s (CDPs), although the postal delivery area or CDP associated with the name often is considerably larger than the associated village or section. Some examples of villages, neighborhoods, and sections that have given their names to post offices or CDPs are
Falls Village,
Mystic,
Niantic Niantic may refer to:
* Niantic people, tribe of American Indians
* Niantic, Inc., mobile app developer known for the mobile games ''Ingress'' and ''Pokémon Go''
Ships
* ''Niantic'' (whaling vessel), relic of San Francisco Gold Rush
*USS ''Ni ...
,
Quaker Hill,
South Kent South Kent is a village located in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, alongside the border with New York, and within and part of Kent, Connecticut. South Kent has its own Post Office whose ZIP code is 06785. South Kent is also home to ...
,
Stafford Springs, and
Whitneyville.
Special purpose agencies
Special tax and service districts
Unlike a dependent city or borough, special tax districts are not general purpose governments, but instead provide additional services to a portion of a town that are not necessarily available to residents outside the district. Examples of services provided include police and fire protection, maintenance of roads or public recreation facilities, or to provide various utilities. A ''special tax district'' has the right under Connecticut law to levy taxes on real estate and personal property within its borders. This tax is in addition to any taxes owed to parent town. It is formed when residents of the proposed district petition to create the district and successfully vote at public meeting or referendum to create the district; it cannot be unilaterally dissolved by the parent town. A ''special service district'' may also provide the same types of services, but is instead created by ordinance from the parent town. It is provided with revenue either from the municipality's general budget, or by a tax imposed by the host municipality on property within the district.
In several Connecticut towns, special tax districts are the legal successor to boroughs or cities that consolidated with the parent town.
Quasi-public state agencies
Connecticut has numerous specially chartered
quasi-public state agencies that operate outside of the executive branch of the state government. These organization provide either statewide or regional services. They are created to provide flexibility of administration, avoiding many of the regulations that public agencies are subject to. Such agencies are organized under CGS § 1-120(1).
Examples include the
Capital Region Development Authority
The Capital Region Development Authority (CDRA), previously known as the Capital City Economic Development Authority (CCEDA), is a quasi-public state agency in Connecticut, responsible for promoting residential and economic development in and aro ...
, which provides loans and grants to support private development in and around
Hartford, CT or the
Connecticut Lottery Corporation, which oversees lottery gaming in the state.
List of Connecticut quasi-public agencies:
*
Access Health CT
Access Health CT is the health insurance marketplace for the U.S. state of Connecticut. Access Health CT will enable people and small businesses to purchase health insurance at federally subsidized rates.
Background
Health insurance exchanges w ...
*
Capital Region Development Authority
The Capital Region Development Authority (CDRA), previously known as the Capital City Economic Development Authority (CCEDA), is a quasi-public state agency in Connecticut, responsible for promoting residential and economic development in and aro ...
*
Connecticut Airport Authority Connecticut Airport Authority is a quasi-public agency established in 2011 to develop, improve, and operate Bradley International Airport and the state’s five general aviation airports ( Danielson Airport, Groton–New London Airport, Hartford– ...
* Connecticut Green Bank
* Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority
* Connecticut Higher Education Supplemental Loan Authority
* Connecticut Housing Finance Authority
* Connecticut Innovations, Inc.
*
Connecticut Lottery Corporation
* Connecticut Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Authority
*
Connecticut Port Authority
The Connecticut Port Authority was signed into law by Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy in 2014 to bring together the state's three deep-water ports of New London, New Haven, and Bridgeport under one statewide port authority. The Act helps Conn ...
* Connecticut Retirement Security Authority
* Connecticut Student Loan Foundation
*
Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority
* State Education Resource Center
References
* Frank Connolly, Roger Kemp, and Philip Schenck (2013), ''Local Government in Connecticut'' (3rd Edition), Wesleyan University Press, Middletown, CT.
External links
Local Government Section VII of ''Connecticut State Register and Manual''
Connecticut General Statutes
The Connecticut General Statutes, also called the General Statutes of Connecticut and abbreviated Conn. Gen. Stat., is a codification of the law of Connecticut. Revised to 2017, it contains all of the public acts of Connecticut and certain special ...
{{United States topic
, title =
Local government in the United States
Local government in the United States refers to governmental jurisdictions below the level of the state. Most states and territories have at least two tiers of local government: counties and municipalities. Louisiana uses the term parish and Al ...
, prefix = Local government in
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...