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The document is a legal opinion from the Ansonia Corporation Counsel regarding ownership of funds in a bank account held in the name of the City of Ansonia - Town & City Clerk ("City Clerk Bank Account"). The legal opinion finds that based on the Ansonia City Charter, Code, and relevant state statutes:
1) Fees collected through the Town & City Clerk's Office are property of the City of Ansonia, not the former Town & City Clerk.
2) The Town & City Clerk did not comply with statutory requirements to receive a commission on fees collected.
3) Therefore, the $277,676 residual balance in the City Clerk Bank Account belongs to the City of Ansonia,
The document is a legal opinion from the Ansonia Corporation Counsel regarding ownership of funds in a bank account held in the name of the City of Ansonia - Town & City Clerk ("City Clerk Bank Account"). The legal opinion finds that based on the Ansonia City Charter, Code, and relevant state statutes:
1) Fees collected through the Town & City Clerk's Office are property of the City of Ansonia, not the former Town & City Clerk.
2) The Town & City Clerk did not comply with statutory requirements to receive a commission on fees collected.
3) Therefore, the $277,676 residual balance in the City Clerk Bank Account belongs to the City of Ansonia,
The document is a legal opinion from the Ansonia Corporation Counsel regarding ownership of funds in a bank account held in the name of the City of Ansonia - Town & City Clerk ("City Clerk Bank Account"). The legal opinion finds that based on the Ansonia City Charter, Code, and relevant state statutes:
1) Fees collected through the Town & City Clerk's Office are property of the City of Ansonia, not the former Town & City Clerk.
2) The Town & City Clerk did not comply with statutory requirements to receive a commission on fees collected.
3) Therefore, the $277,676 residual balance in the City Clerk Bank Account belongs to the City of Ansonia,
gttg uf $turniu Office af the Corporation Counsel 253 Main Street Ansonia, Connecticut 06401 John P. Marini Carporation Counse! Fax: (203) 87E-2235 Ernail : jnrarirri@anson iact. org May 8,2014 President Philip Tripp City of Ansonia Board of Aldermen 253 Main Street Ansonia, CT 06401 President Tripp, Please find attached a copy of my legal opinion regarding the Town and City Clerk's Account. ln addition you will find a copy of the audit performed by BlumShapiro. Mayor David S. Cassetti Jo ntertvtu F0R FILE rh HilI -8 *l.}t .fiffiHn il'f_Y],LrH ' "inrttsd,!(bt8!1sffi ss+ OFFICE OF THE ANSONIA CORPORATION COUNSEL Leeal Opinion 2014-2 Rer City Clerk Account This opinion reprcsents the views of the Ansonio Cotporation Counsel at the time it wos rendered, The opinion mdy no longer represent those views it, among other things, there have been subsequent court coses ar stdtutary amendments that be* on the issues discussed in the opinion- I have been requested by the Mayo/s Office to render a legal opinion regarding the ownership of funds contained in a bank account held in the name of the City of Ansonia - Town & City CIerk ("City Clerk Bank Account") for a period extending back at least 14 years from December 31, 2013. More specifically, I have been asked to determine whether the City of Ansonia or the former Town & City Clerk, Ms, Madeline Bottone, is the proper owner of the funds contained in the City Clerk Bank Account. As of December 31, 2013, the balance in the City Clerk Bank Account was $277,676. It ls my legal opinion that the funds in question belong to the City of Ansonia. This opinion is not premised on any allegation of illlcit or improper conduct on the part of Ms. Bottone. Rather, it is based on the plain language of the Ansonia City Charter and Code, along with relevant sections of the ConnecticutGeneral Statutes. The aforementioned authorities establish that; L) fees collected through the Town & City Clerk's Office and deposited into the City Clerk Bank Account are property of the City of Ansonia; and 2) Ms. Bottone did not comply with the statutory requirements that permit a City Clerk to receive a commission on fees collected. Notwithstanding the above, Ms. Bottone has already taken an annual commission on fees collected as a supplemental salary for the duration of her tenure as Town & City Clerk. lt is therefore clear that she is entitled to no additional compensation from the City of Ansonia, and that the funds held in the account belong to the City, l. Backsround The City Clerk Bank Account was a repository for all fees collected through the office of the Town & City Clerk. The account was in the name of the City of Ansonia, though the sole signatory on the account was for some time Ms, Madeline Bottone, the Town & City Clerk. The Town & City Clerk was responsible for alJ deposits and withdrawals. Funds would be deposited into the account and subsequently withdrawn to pay a portion of the fees owed to the State of Connecticut and City ol Ansonia. Connecticut General Statutes Section 7-34a determines the portion of fees due to the State and City. Additionat funds were wlthdrawn from the account each year for the purpose of paying compensation to both the Town & City Clerk and Assistant Clerk. This annual cornpensation was in addition to the annual base salaries paid to the Town & City Clerk and Assistant Clerk. The Town & City Clerk determined unilaterally the amount of additional compensation paid to herself and to the Assistant Clerk from the account each year. An annual accounting of additional compensation taken from the account from 1999 through 2013 is set forth in the report from BlumShapiro dated April 11, 2014 and attached hereto asAttachmentA. Finally, a sum of $109,244 was withdrawn from the account to fund the purchase of city computers (see Alla_c-h{nent A, page 6). This City Clerk Bank Account was maintained in this fashion for at [eas! the P!!! 14 years. Over that duration of time, the account accumulated a residual balance of funds now totaling $277,676. To clarify, the residual balance consists of fees that were taken in through the Office of the Town & City Clerk and not paid to the State, the City or to the Town & City Clerk or Assistant Clerk as compensation, but kept in the City Clerk Bank Account (it should be noted that the account is non-lnterest bearing and non-taxable), At no time in the past 14 years did the Town & City Clerk submit reports on fees collected or compensation taken to the Ansonia Board of Aldermen or to the Ansonia Mayor. The Town & City Clerk is presently making a claim to the residual balance owed in the account, ll. Ansonla Law Directs Fee-q tg the CiW a) Ansonia Code and Chorter The receipt of money through the Town & City Clerk's Office is controlled by the Ansonia City Charter, Sec. 25, and the Ansonia City Code, Sec.2-32. Those sestions state clearly that fees collected by the Town & City Clerk's Office are to be paid to the City of Ansonia via its Treasurer: Ansonia City Charter, Sec. 25. Powers and duties of town clerk generally. The town clerk shall have and perform all the powers and duties required by the statute laws of town clerks in this state, and may appolnt an assistant as provided for by statute law. He shall also be the city clerk of said city, and also be clerk of the board of aldermen, and shall make and keep true records of all the votes and proceedings of said city and of said board. He shallcause the ordinances of said cityto be published according to law, and when so pubtished, shall entdr upon the records his certificate thereof. He shall make entries upon said records of his own acts in serving notice of orders passed by the board of aldermen. He shallalso keep a record in a book kept forthat purpose of all notices required to be given by this act, together with the return of the person who served the same. He shall do and perform all such duties as may be required of him by this Act, or by any vote of said board of aldermen or ordinances of said city. He shall also issue over his signoture such licenses and permits as may be grunted by sald board, and prescribed by the Charter oJ said city, and shall make a recard thereof in a book kept lor that purpase, shall collect the money therefor, and shdll pdy over the moneys received ta the treasurer of said city within the lirst three doys ol each month. He shall record all amendments to this Charrer and ordinances passed by the board of aldermen, in a book kept for that purpose. [Emphasis added] Ansonia City Code, Sec. 2-32. Receipt, etc', of moneY for city, The city clerk shall enter in a book to be provided for that purpose the names of all persons from whom he may receive money for the city, the time when received, the amount so received and the object thereof, and shall render a faithful and distinct account thereof of all such moneys to the board of aldermen monthly, and pay over the same to the city treasurer prior to the making of such reporl. The aforementioned provisions of the Charter and Code appear to defeat any argument whereby the Town & City Clerk would be allowed to make a personal claim to any portion of fees collected. lndeed, Code Section 2-32 is entitled "Receipt, etc, of money for city," leaving little room for creative interpretation. [Emphasis added] The same language is repeated within the substance of the section itself. The intention of the Charter and Code is further clarified in the requirement for the Town & City Clerk to submit a month)y accounting to the Board of Aldermen, lt is clear that the drafters intended a system whereby funds were collected for the City and placed under the oversight of Ansonia's elected aldermen. For the past 14 years, in direct contravention of the plain language of Section 25 of the Charter, the Town & City Clerk has not paid the monies collected to the City Treasurer' Rather, funds collected have been deposited directly into the City Clerk Bank Account by the Town & City Clerk and then withdrawn for the purposes of reimbursing the State, City and ernployees of the Town and City Clerk's Office. Further, the Board of Aldermen has not been provided with a monthly accounting of monies deposited into or withdrawn from the account at any time within the past 14 years, resulting in a complete absence of the oversight intended by the Charter and Code, On the basis of Ansonia law alone, it can be concludedthatfunds taken in through the Office of the Town & City Clerk are the property of the City of Ansonia. b) Account in Nqme of the city tn examining the surrounding factual circumstances, it is important to note that the City ClerkBankAccountwasapublicaccountheldinthenameoftheCityofAnsonia. Public bank accounts are not properly used as repositories for an individual's private funds or savings, Funds deposited into the account {and allowed to accumulate in the account for a period of 14 years) are property of the City of Ansonia. This is bolstered by the fact that funds were taken from the account to fund a substantial municipal expense: $tOg,Zq+ was transferred to fund the purchase of city computers (see Attachmqnt A, page 6). The account known as the "City Clerk Account" not only was and is held in the name of the City of Ansonia, but also it is operated as a, city account. 1ll, No AuthgrilYfrom State Statute The relevant provisions of the Connecticut General Statutes support the conclusion that the residualfunds held in the account are the property of the City of Ansonia' Connecticut General Statutes Section 7-34b is the appticable statutory authority in that it governs municipalities that have elected to compensate their clerk's by salary in lieu of fees, as Ansonia has done with the relevant sections of its Charter and Code. lt atso sets forth an accounting requirement that governs all fees collected by town clerks on behalf of the municipatity. Sec. 7-34b. Accounting of fees required. Salary ln lieu of fees. (a) The clerk of each municlpality shall, at the end of each fiscal year of such municipality, give an accounting of all fees and compensation provided by the general statutes to be paid to the clerk to the legislative body of such municipality. The record of such accounting shall be a public record, as defined in subdivision (5) of section 1-200. (b) Any town rnay, by ordinance, provide that the town clerk shall receive a salary in lieu of all fees and other compensation provided for in the general statutes, which salary shail be fixed by the tegislative body of such town. Upon the adoption of such ordinance the fees or compensation provided by the general statutes to be paid to the town clerk shall be collected by such town clerk and he shall deposit all such money collected by him in accordance with such provisions of law as govern the deposit of moneys belonging to such town, Ansonia Charter and Code create a system that specifically directs monies collected by the clerk to the City and therefore pre-empts a commission-based compensation system for the Town & City Clerk. This is consistent with the fact ihat the Ansonia clerk receives a city salary, as contemplated by C.G.5. Section 7-34b{bi. The Charter leaves no doubt that a city official's salary is intended to be taken in lieu of all other compensation. Charter Section 133 plainly states that "all salaries shall be paid in monthly installments by orders drawn on the city treasurer and shall be in lieu of all other compensation for any services required or salaried officials under the provisions of this act except as hereinafter specified." Sec. 133. Salaries of city officials, Any provision of the city Charter or ordinances to the contrary notwithstanding and subject only to the provisions of the statutes or Constitution of the State of Connecticut, the salaries of all city officials and employees, may be established or altered at any time by resolution of the board of aldermen, Atl salaries shall be paid in monthly instailments by orders drawn on the city treasurer and shall be in lieu of all other cornpensation for any services reguired or salaried officials under the provisions of this act except as hereinafter specified. lEmphasis addedl Pursuant to C,G,S. Section 7-34b{b), the clerk is bound to follow the "provisions of law as govern the deposit of moneys belonging to such town." As discussed in detail above, the Charter and Code basically mirror the language of General Statute 5 7-3+b(b) by directing the Town & City Clerk to promptly pay to the Treasurer all fees collected for the issuance of license and permit fees, and to file monthly accountings with the Ansonia Board of Aldermen. Notwithstanding the above, the Town & City Clerk has not complied with the provisions of C.G,S. Section 7-34b that periain to clerks being compensated by fees. C.G.S. Section 7-3ab(a) requires such a clerk to "give an accounting of all fees and compensation provided by the general statutes to be paid to the clerk to the legislative body of such municipality." No such accounting has been made inthe past 14 years. This establishes that, even in the absence of an ordinance establishing salary in lieu of all fees, the Town & City Clerk would be ineligible to collect a fee-based commission. IV. Annual_Commission on Fees Alreadv Taken lf the city was to overlook municipal and state authority and conclude (improperly) that its clerk was entitled to a fee-based commission, it is st,ll apparent that the residual funds contained in the account are the property ofthe City ofAnsonia, lrrespective of the authority and analysis set forth above, the cierk has taken an annual compensation from fees deposited into the account for the past 14 years. That annual compensation (already taken) represents the maximum compensation that the Ansonia clerk could ever be entitled to. lndeed, C.G.S. Section 7-34b(a) requires an onnuol accounting of compensation taken, and therefore contemplates a system where compensation is taken on an annual basis, Moreover, Ansonia Charter Section 133 specifics that salary must be paid in monthly installments. lndeed, to conclude otherwise would be to allow a city employee to utilize a public bank account for the purpose of storing personal savings for over a decade. Conclusiorl Review of relevant municipal and state authority firmly establishes that the residual funds contained in the City Clerk Bank Account belong to the City of Ansonia. May 1,2014 John P. Marini, Esq. Corporation Counsel, City of Ansonia