CHARTER
Charter From The Connecticut Legislature
Click on the below image for a printable copy of the original LCIA Charter from 1957
LCIA Charter - Connecticut Special Act 86 of 1957
Click on the above image for a printable copy of the original LCIA Charter from 1957, an original of the 1988 Special Act ammending our 1977 Charter and a down-loaded copy of the 2002 amendment to that charter.
Commentary
The charter establishing the Lake Chaffee Improvement Association, Inc. as a political entity (essential a town in its own right but subordinate to the Town of Ashford) was passed by Special Act of the Connecticut Legislature in 1957.
- "It is well established that a [town's] charter is the fountainhead of municipal powers."
- "The charter serves as an enabling act, both creating power and prescribing the form in which it must be exercised."
Modifications to that charter are made ONLY by the legislature in response to a request from LCIA, said request being supported by a majority of the members of LCIA.
The charter appears have have been amended only three times, all of which raised the tax ceiling. In 2002 the tax ceiling for owners of real estate within the boundaries of LCIA was raised from $50 to $125. The most recent amendment of the charter was in 2018 when the amount was changed to it's current $200.
The legislature offers all "special act" communities like LCIA a means by which independence from the legislature can be established. Under the Connecticut Home Rule Act, any municipality has the power to adopt a charter to serve as the organic law of that municipality." Connecticut General Statutes § 7-188(a).
This CHARTER should not be confused the BY-LAWS of the Lake Chaffee Improvement Associates, Inc.