Groton — Groton City will seek legal advice on how to obtain financial independence from Groton Town, but such an action would be complicated and could ultimately end up in court, according to an undersecretary in the Office of Policy and Management.

“This is not like one of those great western states where there are areas of unincorporated land, where people get together and decide they’re going to incorporate,” said Scott Jackson, undersecretary for intergovernmental policy in OPM.

Groton City councilors proposed a resolution last month to explore ways for the city to become financially independent, including secession. City Councilor Lawrence Gerrish said Thursday the council has directed Mayor Marian Galbraith to seek legal advice, including through an outside consultant, to look at all options.

"It's far from out of steam," he said of the effort.

Mayor Galbraith said the council passed a resolution and she is following its directive. "We are exploring the different options that could be taken to achieve financial independence," she said. 

State law does not spell out a process for seceding, but that would likely involve the city, town, state legislature, executive agencies and in the end, probably the state judiciary, Jackson said.

City councilors backed the resolution after the town council cut the city's funding request for roads by nearly half and also cut police funding by $74,500. The city had asked for $1.92 million for road maintenance in the coming fiscal year, and town councilors cut $830,000. Galbraith has requested arbitration to settle the highway dispute. The RTM voted to restore the city's funding request for police.

"We don't feel like we're getting our fair share, and we're paying a lot," Gerrish said.

Another resident told city councilors recently that the town should be grateful the city is part of the town since it contributes so much, and if the city is treated poorly, it ought to pack its bags and leave.

"I really despise that argument," Town Councilor Harry Watson said Wednesday. "That's like somebody in Mystic living in an expensive house, and paying a lot of taxes on their house, and thinking they should get a better education than everyone else. They should look at the town as a whole."

Town Councilor Dean Antipas said Thursday he understands why city councilors are upset, but he said the Town Council isn't a rubber stamp. Councilors questioned the city’s budget the same way they would question spending by any town department, Antipas said.

The town cut funding for city roads to provide the same amount per mile that it spends to maintain town roads, councilors said. Town Councilor Rich Moravsik said the town wanted an explanation for why city roads cost more, but the city refused and instead sought arbitration, ending the conversation before it started.

The city public works department is overstaffed, Town Councilor Genevieve Cerf said. 

"It's very hard to cut employees. Especially at the local level, where everybody knows everybody," she said. "But it has to be done."

Gerrish said that's their opinion. The city has accounted for every employee hour and the amount of material, yet faces the same issue every year, he said. City roads cost more than town roads because they get more traffic and have more storm drains to clean, among other issues, he said.

Meanwhile, city residents pay for town services they don't use, such as the town planning office, he said. Groton City has its own building and zoning, planning, parks and recreation, public works and police departments. Gerrish said city taxpayers should pay the town only for what they use, like education, and not what they don't. This might be arranged by creating a special taxing district, he said.

Connecticut has 169 municipalities, including Groton Town, of which Groton City is a part. The state considers Groton City a political subdivision, and allows it authority to levy and collect taxes and to perform special services, Jackson said.

But the state doesn't address breakaway actions like secession, he said.

“It is unclear whether this is a local issue or a state issue and that has dramatic legal consequences,” he said.

Secession would be like getting a divorce, only more complicated, Jackson said. For example, roads and other past projects located in Groton City but paid by town bonds could be considered joint assets, he said.  The city could then have to pay the town a certain percentage for those assets based on their depreciated value, much the way property and other assets are divided in a divorce.

If the city tried to achieve independence differently, by opting to tax residents only for its services but not pay taxes for others, it would be less complicated than secession, Jackson said. But it would still face potential legal problems.

Gerrish said Groton City is a self-governing entity and wants to stay that way.

"We're part of Groton and we want to be part of Groton. But we also want to be treated fairly," he said.

Cerf said the council thought carefully about the cut and was unanimous in its decision.

"We're not treating them like children," he said. "They're acting like children."

The last municipality in Connecticut was created in 1921, when West Haven split from Orange.

d.straszheim@theday.com

Twitter: @DStraszheim