Connecticut General Statutes

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 7-194 (2026)

Powers

✓ current as of May 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section CT-CGAcga.ct.gov (official) JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Subject to the provisions of section 7-192, all towns, cities or boroughs which have a charter or which adopt or amend a charter under the provisions of this chapter shall have the following specific powers in addition to all powers granted to towns, cities and boroughs under the Constitution and general statutes: To manage, regulate and control the finances and property, real and personal, of the town, city or borough and to regulate and provide for the sale, conveyance, transfer and release of town, city or borough property and to provide for the execution of contracts and evidences of indebtedness issued by the town, city or borough.

(1957, P.A. 465, S. 8; 1961, P.A. 490; 517, S. 89; 1967, P.A. 19; 1971, P.A. 802, S. 12; 1972, P.A. 279, S. 1, 2; P.A. 75-516, S. 1, 2; P.A. 79-531, S. 2; 79-618, S. 2; P.A. 80-403, S. 8, 10; 80-483, S. 19, 186; P.A. 81-219, S. 2, 3.)

History: 1961 acts made section applicable to municipalities having a charter as well as those which adopted or amended a charter under provisions of this chapter and amended Subdiv. (50) to remove obsolete exception for court officers; 1967 act amended Subdiv. (57) to raise maximum penalty from $25 to $100; 1971 act repealed Subdiv. (41) re building code regulation; 1972 act added Subdiv. (58) re merit and civil service systems; P.A. 75-516 added Subdiv. (59) re leasing real property; P.A. 79-531 added Subdivs. (60) and (61) re fair housing and data processing services; P.A. 79-618 added Subdiv. (62) re ethics code; P.A. 80-403 added Subdiv. (63) re discriminatory practices; P.A. 80-483 made technical changes; P.A. 81-219 transferred most powers from this section to Sec. 7-148, effective October 1, 1982.

Cited. 147 C. 60. Where charter points out particular way in which act is to be done, prescribed form must be pursued for act to be lawful. Id., 401. If charter of city grants, in general terms, power to take any land necessary to layout of highways, it is to be presumed, in absence of express words or necessary implication to the contrary, that it was not intended land already appropriated to one public use should be taken for another. Id., 478. Language in charters varies so that cases involving construction of some charters are not authoritative in determining power under others. 148 C. 233. Cited. 152 C. 422. Court held ordinances attempted to regulate public service company and were in conflict with state policy; New Haven and Hamden ordinances requiring private water company, which also served 11 other towns, to fluoridate the water it supplied them held invalid. Id., 563, 566. Ability of board of education to perform its statutory duties not destroyed by requirement that it select nonprofessional employees under civil service requirements of charter. Id., 568. A town, as a creature of the state, can exercise only such powers as are expressly granted to it, or such powers as are necessary to enable it to discharge the duties and carry into effect the objects and purposes of its creation. 153 C. 236. Regulation and disposal of refuse and garbage is town power and refuse disposal operation is not a nuisance where not in arbitrary or unreasonable manner. 156 C. 304. Cited. 158 C. 100; 162 C. 497; 171 C. 78. Town has broad authority to control traffic on its public streets which includes the closing thereof to vehicular traffic. 174 C. 282. That the legislature went to the extent of precisely enumerating numerous specific powers without mentioning subpoena power indicates it did not intend to grant municipalities such a power by way of charter adoption; former Subdiv. (26) did not authorize a municipality to grant its governing or legislative body the power to issue subpoenas. 180 C. 243. “Regulate” connotes the power to permit and control as well as to prohibit and infers limitations. 181 C. 114. Cited. 182 C. 253. Adoption of equal opportunities ordinance was valid exercise of Home Rule Act, but former Subdiv. (25) did not authorize municipality to create commission to resolve employment discrimination complaints. 183 C. 495. Cited. 185 C. 88; 186 C. 229; 188 C. 276; 193 C. 1; 196 C. 623; 203 C. 267; 208 C. 543; 237 C. 135; 241 C. 678.

Cited. 1 CA 417; 42 CA 599.

Omission of zoning powers from enumeration of specific powers granted towns under statute compels conclusion that legislature did not intend that any action under chapter should alter the declared law under the general zoning enabling act. 25 CS 378, 379. Cited. 31 CS 447; 34 CS 14. Former Subdiv. (58) provided authority to establish a merit or civil service system for selection and promotion; also contained implied power to establish a personnel appeals board. 35 CS 645. Cited. 36 CS 74; 37 CS 124.

(Return to Chapter
Table of Contents)

(Return to
List of Chapters)

(Return to
List of Titles)

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 36 cases, 1959–2017 · leading case: City Council v. Hall, 429 A.2d 481 (Conn. 1980).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

City Council v. Hall, 429 A.2d 481 (Conn. 1980). · cites it 13× “The dispositive issue in this case is whether § 7-194 (26) of the Home Rule Act authorizes a municipality to grant to its governing or legislative body the power to issue subpoenas.”

New Haven Comm'n on Equal Opportunities Ex Rel. Washington v. Yale Univ., 439 A.2d 404 (Conn. 1981). · cites it 10× “On the other hand, the commission argues that enacting the ordinance was a valid exercise of the powers of the city under the Home Rule Act, General Statutes §§7-194 (25), (26) and (29).”

MGM Resorts Int'l Global Gaming Dev., LLC v. Malloy, 861 F.3d 40 (2d Cir. 2017). · cites it 3× “But Connecticut has provided municipalities with a general authority to enter into contracts under a separate statute, Conn. Gen. Stat. § 7-194 . Nothing in Special Act 15-7, or any other authority, prohibits' non-tribal developers from negotiating with municipalities to develop…”

Manchester Sand & Gravel Co. v. Town of South Windsor, 524 A.2d 621 (Conn. 1987). · cites it 6× “Pizzuto held only that the town council of Newington could close Kimberly Road through the installation of concrete barriers at the Newington-West Hartford line to all traffic by adopting a resolution under the authority of General Statutes § 7-194. 13 The defendant argues that,…”

Pepin v. City of Danbury, 368 A.2d 88 (Conn. 1976). · cites it 4× “Subsection 52 establishes the power “to assess, levy and collect taxes for general or special purposes on all property, subjects or objects which may be lawfully taxed and to regulate the mode of assessment and collection of taxes and assessments not otherwise provided for.”

Bd. of Educ. v. Town & Borough, 778 A.2d 862 (Conn. 2001). · cites it 4× “7 The defendants, however, maintained *421 that the mayor’s service on the board was not contrary *422 to, but rather consistent with, § 9-206a, and that the adoption of separate budget referenda was authorized by General Statutes §§ 7-194 and 7-198. 8 The parties stipulated…”

Windham First Taxing Dist. v. Town of Windham, 546 A.2d 226 (Conn. 1988). · cites it 4× “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…”

State Ex Rel. Barnard v. Ambrogio, 294 A.2d 529 (Conn. 1972). · cites it 8× “which adopt or amend a charter under the provisions of this chapter shall have the following specific powers in addition to all powers granted to towns .”

John J. Brennan Constr. Corp., Inc. v. Shelton, 448 A.2d 180 (Conn. 1982). · cites it 2× “18 Brennan’s argument that under General Statutes § 7-194 the board of aldermen had the general power to contract and to construct sewer systems is of no avail.”

Lawson v. Whitey's Frame Shop, 697 A.2d 1137 (Conn. 1997). · cites it 2× “” General Statutes § 7-194 provides in pertinent part: “[A]ll towns, cities, or boroughs which have a charter or which adopt or amend a charter under the provisions of this chapter shall have the following specific powers in addition to all powers granted to towns, cities and…”

Keeney v. Town of Old Saybrook, 676 A.2d 795 (Conn. 1996). · cites it 2× “sewage disposal plants”); General Statutes § 7-194 (granting all towns that have charters power to “provide for the execution of contracts”).”

Town of Cheshire v. McKenney, 438 A.2d 88 (Conn. 1980). · cites it 2× “Board of Education, supra, 574; see also General Statutes §7-194 (26) (municipality granted the power to “protect or promote the .”

Show all 36 citing cases →

— Conn. Gen. Stat. § 7-194(8) — 1 case

Wood v. Town of Wilton, 240 A.2d 904 (Conn. 1968).

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.