Windham First Taxing Dist. v. Town of Windham

• Decision Date: 09 August 1988
• Docket Number: No. 13337,13337
• Citation: 208 Conn. 543,546 A.2d 226
• Parties: WINDHAM FIRST TAXING DISTRICT v. TOWN OF WINDHAM.
• Court: Connecticut Supreme Court

Page 226

546 A.2d 226

208 Conn. 543

WINDHAM FIRST TAXING DISTRICT v. TOWN OF WINDHAM.

No. 13337.

Supreme Court of Connecticut.

Argued May 10, 1988.

Decided Aug. 9, 1988.

M. Hatcher Norris, Glastonbury, for appellant (plaintiff).

John D. Boland, Putnam, for appellee (defendant).

Before PETERS, C.J., and ARTHUR H. HEALEY, SHEA, CALLAHAN and HULL, JJ.

HULL, Associate Justice.

This case involves a turf war between the Windham First Taxing District (district) and the consolidated town of Windham (town). The dispositive issue is whether the district's furnishing of street lighting in the district, in accordance with a provision of its charter, preempts the field so that the town cannot tax the district residents for such services. We agree with the trial court that a special service tax district, organized under chapter 105 of the General Statutes, cannot prevent a town from providing and taxing for such services, if the town is so authorized by its charter or the General Statutes. We, therefore, find no error.

The district brought a declaratory judgment action against the town to determine whether the town's taxation of residents of the district for services paid for and provided by it "violates the rights of the members of the Windham First Taxing District to be free of taxation without representation, to not be deprived of property without due process of law, and to not be subjected to dual taxation." The district also sought an injunction against the town restraining it from taxing the residents of the district for services provided and paid for by the district. The town's third special defense, pertinent to this appeal, claimed that the district "was not created to usurp but merely to supplement and enhance the Town's authority to provide the specific services." The district amended its prayer for relief claiming a declaratory judgment determining: (1) whether the town has the power to tax the residents of the district for street lights; (2) whether the taxation by the town of the residents of the district for services not supplied nor paid for by the town constitutes the deprivation of property without due process of law; and (3) whether the taxation by the town of the residents of the district for services supplied by, paid for and taxed by the district constitutes impermissible dual taxation.

From the joint stipulation of the parties and accompanying exhibits the court made the following finding of facts. The plaintiff district is a municipal corporation that was organized by vote on April 14, 1981, pursuant to chapter 105 of the General Statutes and has continued to exist since that date. Pursuant to its charter and by-laws, the district was originally created as a fire district "for the purpose of providing fire protection and certain emergency services normally attendant to fire protection facilities." The district constitutes a separate taxing district within the boundaries of the defendant town and is subject to those limitations specified in the General Statutes with respect to chapter 105 corporations. It is a statutory special service district encompassing a geographical area coextensive with the areas outside the former boundaries of the city of Willimantic. The district's charter provides that the district shall be established for the purpose of lighting streets, in addition to the purpose of providing fire protection.

The defendant town is a Connecticut municipality that has existed since 1692, and that, pursuant to the Home Rule Act and vote of December 15, 1982, was consolidated with the former city of Willimantic. The town has been governed since July 1, 1983, pursuant to a consolidation charter. The consolidation charter creates within the town two special service districts, the "Windham Service District" encompassing the area outside the boundaries of the former city of Willimantic and coextensive with the area encompassing the plaintiff district, and the "Willimantic Service District" consisting of the area within the boundaries of the former city of Willimantic. The plaintiff district was never consolidated with the town pursuant to the Home Rule Act although provision for consolidation of such a district is found in General Statutes § 7-194.

The consolidation town charter allocates responsibility for providing fire and police protection services within their respective boundaries to each of the service districts. That charter further provides that the "town of Windham shall have all the powers previously granted to the town of Windham and the city of Willimantic, and all additional powers conferred upon municipalities by the Connecticut General Statutes....]"

Pursuant to its charter and the General Statutes, the district taxes its residents for services that it provides to them within the district. The district allocates a portion of its budget for street lighting and pays the provider, Connecticut Light and Power (CL & P), for the cost of street lighting incurred by the district within its territorial boundaries.

Under the consolidation charter and the General Statutes, the town taxes the residents in the geographical area comprising the town, including the geographical area of the district. The town budgets monies for street lighting throughout the town. It actually pays for the cost of street lighting only in the geographical area comprising the boundaries of the former city of Willimantic, which excludes the geographical area of the district. The town has a budget surplus with respect to street lighting throughout the town that is roughly equal to the district's expenditures for street lighting within the district from year to year. The town is willing to pay for the cost of street lighting incurred by the plaintiff within the district.

The court made the following factual findings and legal conclusions: (1) while the district taxpayers were being charged for street lighting by both the district and the town, this effectively higher tax rate was not caused by the town, but by the district itself; (2) the town was willing to pay for the district's street lighting but the district has refused to allow it to do so; (3) before the district was created on April 14, 1981, and the town was consolidated with the city of Willimantic, the geographical area comprising the district was controlled by the town; (4) before the district was created the town had the primary responsibility to provide street lighting services to the residents in the district area; (5) this power rested in the town by the terms of the consolidation ordinance which provided that the consolidated town "shall have all the powers previously granted to the Town of Windham and the City of Willimantic, and all additional powers conferred upon municipalities by the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended from time to time"; (6) the primary responsibility for providing street lighting to the residents of the district lies with the consolidated town; and (7) the town is granted, under General Statutes § 7-148(c)(4)(F), the power to provide for lighting the streets, highways and other public places of the municipality and for the care and preservation of public lamps, lamp posts and fixtures.

The court concluded that the result of a holding that the town had no power to tax the district residents for street lights would be "potential anarchy" in that a neighborhood could segregate itself from the rest of the town and decide that it wanted separate police protection and fire protection to the exclusion of the town providing such services. Such a result, it posited, would require an abdication by the town of its responsibility to provide essential services to town residents. The court stated that a special service district may provide greater service than the municipality is providing but cannot exclude a town from providing a specific service in the district where the town specifically has this power by virtue of its charter and the General Statutes. The court concluded that the town had the power to tax the residents for street lighting. The court lastly found no due process violation nor impermissible dual taxation under the circumstances.

The plaintiff district has appealed from the judgment for the defendant, claiming that the court erred in: (1) concluding that the town has the power to tax the residents of the district for street lighting when the taxation and provision of such services is otherwise provided for in the duly organized taxing district; and (2) concluding that the taxation by the town of the residents of the district for services not supplied nor paid for by the town does not constitute the deprivation of property without due process of law. We find no error.

The district's first argument comes down to its claim of preemption of the right to provide street lighting after the district was organized under General Statutes § 7-325. ¹ It bases its right to do so on the district's purpose, "to light streets," described in General Statutes § 7-326. ²

The district argues that its power to light streets may be terminated only by consolidation of the district with another unit of government pursuant to General Statutes § 7-195 or by termination of the district pursuant to General Statutes § 7-329. This argument sidesteps the town's position. The town does not claim that the district lacks any of its statutory powers. ³ The only issue is whether, when the town is willing and able to provide a certain service, the district may provide and tax for that same service and claim that the town cannot legally tax the district residents for such service. The parties do not claim that the district is presently exercising any of its powers other than lighting streets.

The district claims that the last sentence of § 7-326 supports its position. We conclude, however, that the provision that "[a]ny district may contract with a town, city, borough or other district for carrying out any of the purposes...