Unless otherwise provided by special act or charter, (1) members of boards of assessment appeals, (2) selectmen, (3) town clerks, (4) town treasurers, (5) collectors of taxes, (6) constables, (7) registrars of voters, (8) subject to the provisions of subsection (i) of section 10-223e, members of boards of education, and (9) library directors shall be elected, provided any town may, by ordinance, provide for the appointment, by its chief executive authority, of (A) a constable or constables in lieu of constables to be elected under section 9-200, or (B) a town clerk, town treasurer or collector of taxes in lieu of the election of such officers as provided in section 9-189. Unless otherwise provided by special act or charter, all other town officers shall be appointed as provided by law and, if no other provision for their appointment is made by law, then (i) by the chief executive officer of such municipality, (ii) where the legislative body is a town meeting, by the board of selectmen, or (iii) by such other appointing authority as a town may by ordinance provide, and except that, if a board of finance is established under the provisions of section 7-340, the members thereof shall be elected as provided in section 9-202. Any town may, by a vote of its legislative body, determine the number of its officers and prescribe the mode by which they shall be voted for at subsequent elections.

(1949 Rev., S. 513; 1951, S. 105b; 1953, S. 667d; P.A. 73-655, S. 1; P.A. 76-173, S. 2; P.A. 77-578, S. 1, 4; P.A. 82-239, S. 4, 7; P.A. 89-184, S. 1, 2; P.A. 95-283, S. 27, 68; P.A. 10-84, S. 3; 10-111, S. 7; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 10-1, S. 57; P.A. 12-116, S. 24.)

History: P.A. 73-655 provided that town may, by ordinance, prescribe appointment instead of election of constables; P.A. 76-173 added “or charter” to “special act” by which exceptions are authorized, where appearing, substituted “chief executive officer” for “board of selectmen” as authorized to appoint in absence of provision therefor, substituted “by a vote of its legislative body” for “at a town meeting ... pass votes determining” as authority to determine number of officers and prescribe mode by which they are to be voted for in absence of other provision in special act or charter; P.A. 77-578 added to chief executive officer, “or (2) where the legislative body is a town meeting, by the board of selectmen, or (3) or by such other appointing authority a town may by ordinance provide, and”; P.A. 82-239 removed the obsolete reference to the agent of the town deposit fund; P.A. 89-184 inserted new Subdiv. (1) designation, added Subdiv. (2), authorizing any town to provide, by ordinance, for appointment of town clerk, town treasurer or collector of town taxes, and substituted alphabetic designations for former numeric Subdiv. indicators; P.A. 95-283 replaced board of tax review with board of assessment appeals, effective July 6, 1995; P.A. 10-84 made technical changes and deleted provisions re assessors; P.A. 10-111 added new numeric Subdiv. designators, added “subject to the provisions of subsection (g) of section 10-223e,” re election of members of boards of education, redesignated existing Subdivs. (1) and (2) as new Subparas. (A) and (B) and redesignated existing Subparas. (A) to (C) as clauses (i) to (iii), effective July 1, 2010; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 10-1 substituted reference to Sec. 10-223e(h) for reference to Sec. 10-223e(g), effective July 1, 2010; P.A. 12-116 made a technical change in Subdiv. (8), effective July 1, 2012.

Immaterial mistakes in description of office of no consequence. 75 C. 16. Members of town school committee are town officers. 103 C. 422. Cited. 136 C. 639; 162 C. 256. Under 2007 revision, municipal assessors are town officers and the town has authority to decide whether assessors are to be elected or appointed; if the town determines that the assessors are to be appointed, their terms of office expire at the time the term of the appointing board expires unless the town establishes an alternative term of office. 309 C. 790.

Cited. 40 CA 643.