EASTON’S GOVERNMENT
The US War of Independence was fought in the years following 1776. One of the many
grievances expressed was “no taxation without representation”. The war ended in 1782
and shortly thereafter, amid a period of chaotic government, efforts began to draft a
constitution. After several years of deliberation, a federal constitution was adopted in
1787 and went into effect in 1789.
Despite common belief the US is not a democracy. It is a democratic republic based on
an elected government. It includes separation of powers and checks and balances on
the powers of different arms of the government and elected officials. This was designed
to prevent the accumulation and abuse of power. It is best reflected in some of the
comments of the founding fathers:
John Adams said:
“They define a republic to be a government of laws and not of men”.
and
“That, as a republic is the best of governments, so that particular
arrangements of the powers of society, or, in other words, that form of
government which is best contrived to secure an impartial and exact
execution of the laws, is the best of republics”.
and
“Remember democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and
murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit
suicide”
James Madison said:
“Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention;
have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of
property; and have, in general, been as short in their lives as they have
been violent in their deaths”.
When a lady asked Dr. Benjamin Franklin:
“Well Doctor what have we got a republic or a monarchy” — "A republic,"
replied the Doctor, "if you can keep it."
The Founders were aware of the lesson of history. They noted that in ancient times the
democratic governments had an average lifetime of about two hundred years. They
ended when the voters voted themselves unlimited benefits and the government
collapsed. This is similar to what may be happening today in parts of Europe.
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The founders wanted to avoid a democracy and after much deliberation settled on a
democratic republic formed from a federation of sovereign states. This is why the US
has an elective college to elect the President. It is designed to preserve the democratic
republic and prevent a democracy.
The difference is not immediately apparent and may be best illustrated by example. In
a democracy there would be a national presidential election. The votes in all states
would be totaled and the candidate who received the most votes nationally would be
President. This would mean that the majority in California which has more than
17,000,000 voters could exceed the total vote in Connecticut with only about 2,000,000
voters. In our democratic republic the Electoral College is designed to prevent the
election of a President by national popular vote. Each state counts.
Each state has an assigned number of electoral college votes proportional to the
population. This means that California with more than 17,000,000 voters has 55
electoral votes. Connecticut with about 2,000,000 voters has 7 electoral votes.
California only gets to cast 55 votes even if the winner gets all 17,000,000 votes.
Connecticut gets 7 votes even if the winner only wins by 1 vote.
The US was established as a federal union of sovereign states. Each state is the center
of this organization. The individual states retain all power unless they specifically
relinquish it to some other party. On the national scale this is called the US
Constitution. The state cedes to the Federal government those powers enumerated in
the constitution and no more. This is the basis of the ongoing battle with the federal
government over state’s rights. On a local level it is the state constitution. The
municipalities have no intrinsic powers. They only have those powers specifically ceded
to them by state statute. Those powers not delegated are retained by the state.
Important aspects of both constitutions are as follows:
 Power rests in the people who elect their President and Representatives
 Elected officials report to the people not each other and laws or regulations
cannot be adopted to make them do so.
 There is separation of powers.
 There are checks and balances to prevent the accumulation and abuse of power
in any elected body or official
This applies to all levels from the Federal Government through the state to the local
government.
In Connecticut municipalities have the right to adopt a charter within statutorily specified
limits. If they do not have a charter then they are limited by the statutes. These
statutes permit the election and appointment of selected officials only and the adoption
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of certain ordinances. In some cases municipalities were established by Special Act
and there are slight variances.
The simplicity of this self-regulating organization is best illustrated by the government of
a small municipality that has no charter and consequently is governed by the state
statutes and the town meeting form of government. This form of Government typifies
Easton.
Section 7 of the Connecticut General Statutes determines how it is governed. They
permit the election of the following:
- A Board of Selectmen including a First Selectman [CGS §7-10 ]
- A Board of Finance [CGS §7-340 ]
- A Town Treasurer [CGS §7-79 ]
- An Assessor [CGS §7-100k ]
- A Tax Collector [Special Act 82-51 ]
- A Town Clerk [CGS §7-16 ]
- A Registrar of Vital Statistics[CGS §7-36 ]
Each has power defined by statute and each report periodically to the voters for
evaluation in the form of an election. They report to the voters and not to each other.
The voters elect or re-elect their elected officials in periodic elections. The power to hire
some officials by appointment has been delegated to designated boards which also fill
vacancies. These simple steps enable elected and appointed officials to represent the
interests of the people.
The Board of Selectmen is the executive authority of the town with executive powers
limited by statute. One of their duties is to “draw orders on the treasury to settle all
claims” [Section 7-12]. All payment orders paid by the town must be approved by the
majority of the Selectmen [CGS §7-83]. However, in order to avoid conflict with
standard accounting practices they cannot also approve purchase orders since that
would be a conflict of interest.
The Board of Finance is an appropriations board with minor executive powers. It
appropriates funds for specific purposes with the approval of the town meeting. It can
also appropriate limited amounts and effect transfers without town meeting approval.
The Board determines an annual budget in consultation with the department heads and
elected officials. It then recommends a budget to the town meeting, or referendum, for
approval. Once approved budgets and appropriations are used by the department
heads for the purposes for which they were appropriated.
The Town Treasurer [Section 7-79] determines if there are sufficient funds in the
account, before payment is made, and verifies by signing the check.
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The Assessor [Section 7-100k] estimates the cost or value of real estate, automobiles
and other taxable assets so that tax can be paid on it
Tax Collector levies the taxes on taxable items whose value has been determined by
the Assessor
The Town Clerk reports to the Secretary of the State and all of the duties of the office
are defined entirely by statute [Section 7]. Many Clerks are also Registrar of Vital
Statistics.
All of the above are general observations about local government in Connecticut. They
are determined by statutes and are independent of personalities. The Town Meeting
form of government is designed with checks and balances to prevent the abuse of
power. Since responsibility for each office resides with the elected or appointed official,
other boards or officials cannot control how they perform the duties of the office.
The genius of these simple arrangements is that they permit the local government to
function while preserving checks and balances and separating power. They protect the
town’s financial and other assets by separating appropriation from approval and by
associating responsibility with authority. This simple system has survived the test of
time because every action requires the approval of at least one other autonomous arm
of government. When all is well it operates without noticeable limitations. When an
attempt is made to pervert the system then it operates automatically to limit the
concentration of power. However, it only operates if we all participate. The price of
freedom is vigilance and participation. Voters must vote if the system is to work as
intended.
As Thomas Paine’s words remind us:
“Those who expect the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the
fatigue of supporting it”.
Thomas Jefferson reiterates:
“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance”.
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