Case Name: John Patry et al. v. Board of Trustees, Firemen's Pension Fund
Court: Connecticut Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Connecticut
Decision Date: 1983-06-21
Citations: 190 Conn. 460
Docket Number: 11094
Parties: John Patry et al. v. Board of Trustees, Firemen’s Pension Fund
Judges: 
Reporter: Connecticut Reports
Volume: 190
Pages: 460–481

Head Matter:
John Patry et al. v. Board of Trustees, Firemen’s Pension Fund
(11094)
Peters, Healey, Parskey, Grillo and Bieluch, Js.
Argued March 31
decision released June 21, 1983
William F. Gallagher, with whom were Elizabeth A. Dorsey, and, on the brief, Roger B. Calistro, for the appellant (defendant).
Gerald F. Stevens, for the appellees (plaintiffs).

Opinion:
Peters, J.
The principal issue in this case is the construction of the provisions of a city's home rule ordinance governing the calculation of the pension to which a retiring chief of the fire department of the city's first taxation district is entitled. The plaintiffs, John Patry and others, taxpayers and employees of the first fire taxation district of the city of West Haven with an interest in the "Firemen's Pension Fund," brought an action to enjoin the defendant, Board of Trustees, Firemen's Pension Fund of West Haven, Connecticut, from using the pension fund to pay a retirement pension to Joseph C. Howell, and for a declaratory judgment to determine whether the action of the trustees in granting Joseph C. Howell a pension was valid. After a hearing before the court, the defendant was permanently enjoined from paying the pension as presently formulated, and the action of the defendant in for mulating the pension was declared invalid, null and void. After the defendant's motion to reargue and to set aside the judgment was denied, the defendant appealed.
There is no dispute about the underlying facts. Joseph C. Howell, after thirty-one years of service, decided to retire as chief of the fire department of the first taxation district of West Haven. At Chief Howell's request, the defendant board of trustees of the firemen's pension fund met to act on his retirement and to determine the amount of his pension. The board approved his retirement and set the pension at 70 percent of his former salary. The 70 percent figure was opposed by a representative of the firefighters' union who claimed that the percentage was not authorized by the home rule ordinance of West Haven.
In determining the percentage figure, the board relied on the wording of § 5 (a) of the home rule ordinance adopted by the city on November 6,1973. The home rule ordinance provides, in relevant part, for disbursements from the firemen's pension fund as follows: "(a) When any full-time employee of said district has served as such for a period of at least twenty-five years, the board of trustees shall, on his application in writing, retire such employee and pay him an annual pension in monthly installments during his life time of an amount equal to not less than one-half of the annual salary received by such employee preceding his retirement. In addition thereto any such employee who has served more than twenty-five years shall receive an additional two percent of his salary received preceding his retirement for each year over twenty-five, but in no event shall his pension exceed seventy percent of such salary." The board, in setting the Howell pension, took into account the following considerations: (1) the nature of the responsibilities borne by the chief of the department by virtue of his position; (2) the length of his service in the department and the nature of his service, which necessitated long workdays without overtime compensation; (3) the retirement of a prior chief of the department, under prior legislation, at 70 percent of his salary. The board took the view, according to testimony at the trial court hearing, that once someone had served for twenty-five years, the board had discretion to fix a pension at some percentage between the minimum of 50 percent and the maximum of 70 percent. Although the 70 percent figure might have been rationalized by selecting a base figure of 58 percent for the first twenty-five years of service and then adding 2 percent for each of the additional six years, or an additional 12 percent, that was not the basis upon which the board proceeded.
The trial court enjoined the defendant board from paying Howell the pension as it had been formulated. The court determined that the ordinance plainly limited additions to the base percentage to 2 additional percent of salary for each year's service over twenty-five. The court further held that the ordinance conferred no discretion upon the defendant to modify its statutory provisions, since such a grant of discretionary authority would have required explicit statutory language. In a motion to reargue, the defendant challenged both the substance and the form of the trial court's judgment.
The defendant raises on this appeal the same issues that were presented to the trial court in the motion to reargue. The defendant claims that the trial court erred: (1) in construing the language of the home rule ordinance to preclude a 70 percent pension for retiring Chief Joseph C. Howell and (2) in enjoining the defendant from payment of said pension rather than remanding the matter for further action by the board of trustees. We find no error.
Since the propriety of the action taken by the defendant necessarily turns on construction of § 5 (a) of the West Haven Home Rule Ordinance, it is helpful to review the history of the ordinance. Although there is apparently no discoverable history of the discussions that led to its approval, and therefore no legislative history as that term is normally understood, it is possible to trace the history of the ordinance through the legislative acts which preceded it. Starting in 1937, the General Assembly enacted a number of special acts concerning pensions for members of the fire department of the first taxation district of West Haven. The first of these special acts provided, for any member of the fire department who had contributed to a "firemen's relief fund," a pension "equal to one-half of his regular monthly pay." 22 Spec. Acts 797, No. 399, § 5 (1937). This act was amended in 1967 to establish a pension fund similar in form to that of the present ordinance. The 1967 special act entitled a fireman, after twenty-five years of service, to a pension "of at least one-half of his annual salary" and "[i]n addition thereto . . . [allowed him to] receive an additional two per cent of his basic salary . . . for each year over and above the said twenty-five years of service, but in no event shall his pension exceed seventy percent of his basic salary at the time of his retirement." 33 Spec. Acts 137, No. 144, § 1 (1967). This act was amended in 1969 in a variety of ways but with an express reservation that the amendment was not to affect "interests of any past or present fire department employee in any pension fund." 34 Spec. Acts 79, No. 100, § 6 (1969). The home rule ordinance that we must construe was approved in 1973. It continues the basic plan of the 1967 special act, but introduces a linguistic substitution of "not less than" for "at least" in the description of the basic twenty-five year pension.
This history provides support for some of the defendant's claims, but not for all of them. We conclude, as the defendant argues, that the present ordinance, when it authorizes a pension of "not less than one-half" of a retiree's annual salary counsels a disposition that is the same as if the ordinance had read "at least one-half." See Treat v. Town Plan & Zoning Commission, 145 Conn. 136, 139, 139 A.2d 601 (1958). We are, however, unpersuaded that this conclusion requires us to hold that the ordinance confers discretion on the board of trustees to award a pension in any amount between 50 and 70 percent. Reading the ordinance as a whole, we construe its reference to "not less than" as authorizing a payment of a pension beyond the amount of 50 percent of a retiree's annual salary only when an additional pension is earned by additional years of service. Nothing in the ordinance, textually or historically, confers upon the board the authority to consider the quality of the retiree's service or to provide the present retiree a pension comparable to that paid to former retirees who may or may not have been similarly situated.
The defendant, while recognizing that the home rule ordinance does not expressly confer discretionary authority on the board, claims that the ordinance should be read to imply such authority. It argues that discretion for the board may be inferred from the combination of phraseology in § 5 that allows the board to set the pension at "not less than one-half" and "in no event . . . [to] exceed seventy percent." If we assume that the "not less than" figure may be set at more than 50 percent, say at 58, then the addition of 12 percent for Chief Howell's six years of additional service would bring him to the 70 percent level. Even if we were to assume arguendo that the ordinance could reasonably be interpreted to confer this degree of discretion on the board, it is clear on the present record that the board exercised no such discretion, for the testimony at the trial expressly disclaimed reliance on such a formula. In the alternative, the defendant relies on other provisions of the home rule ordinance which authorize the board of trustees "to make all rules and regulations for the control and deposit of [the pension] fund." This reliance on Chapter 5, § 4, proves both too little and too much. On the one hand, the provisions of § 4, because they deal with general authority over "control and deposit," must, in case of conflict, give way to the more specific provisions of § 5 that expressly govern "disbursements from [the pension] fund." Accepted rules of construction assign precedence to provisions of special applicability over those of general applicability. Budkofsky v. Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, 177 Conn. 588, 592, 419 A.2d 333 (1979); Meriden v. Board of Tax Review, 161 Conn. 396, 401-402, 288 A.2d 435 (1971). On the other hand, the provisions of § 4 demonstrate that the drafters of the ordinance knew how to select language that would unequivocally confer discretion. Comparison of the broad powers conferred by § 4 with the narrow powers conferred by § 5 is indicative of an intent not to vest the board with discretion to determine the amount of pension funds to be paid to a retiree.
The defendant's final argument suggests that the designation of the defendant as the administrative agency responsible for disbursement of the pension fund necessarily confers upon it discretionary authority to implement the provisions of the home rule ordinance in a manner consistent with its view of underlying policy. The defendant relies on cases such as Riley v. State Employees' Retirement Commission, 178 Conn. 438, 440-42, 423 A.2d 87 (1979), where we held that a commission, acting in a quasi-judicial capacity to determine whether a claimant had sustained a service- connected injury, had the right to exercise discretion to approve or disapprove applications for retirement benefits. Riley does not, however, stand for the proposition that a statute impliedly confers unfettered discretion upon an administrative agency by the mere act of entrusting the agency with the authority for disbursement of pension funds. Our case law, to the contrary, has consistently held that delegation of discretionary authority is valid only when premised upon a positive statutory basis supported by sufficient statutory guidelines. When the assertion of such discretionary authority conflicts with specific legislative mandates expressly providing a different result, the purported exercise of discretion is invalid. Wadhams v. Torrington, 152 Conn. 454, 457-58, 208 A.2d 549 (1965); Wilson v. West Haven, 142 Conn. 646, 656-57, 116 A.2d 420 (1955); see generally South East Property Owners & Residents Assn. v. City Plan Commission, 156 Conn. 587, 590-91, 244 A.2d 394 (1968); State ex rel. Huntington v. McNulty, 151 Conn. 447, 449, 199 A.2d 5 (1964). Courts in other jurisdictions have also refused to read enabling legislation to confer unlimited discretion on administrators of public pension funds. See, e.g., Bergman v. Board of Trustees of Firemen's Retirement System, 425 S.W.2d 143, 146-47 (Mo. 1968); Breen v. Board of Trustees, 299 N.Y. 8, 19, 85 N.E.2d 161 (1949); State ex rel. Henderson v. Schuele, 25 Ohio St. 2d 179, 182, 267 N.E.2d 590 (1971).
It is useful, finally, to consider the consequences that would ensue if we were to adopt the defendant's construction of the pension ordinance. It is undisputed that § 5 establishes a floor, retirement at half pay at age sixty-five after twenty-five years of service, and a ceiling, retirement at 70 percent of pay. It also establishes a pension ladder, with each rung representing an additional 2 percent of pay for each year of service past twenty-five years. The defendant's construction of these provisions would give the pension board the unfettered discretion to establish the floor at any rung of the ladder or even, as in the present case, to make it coincident with the ceiling. So construed, the ordinance violates the rule that an enactment conferring legislative power upon an administrative agency must not only declare legislative policy, but also establish primary standards for carrying out the policy or .lay down an intelligible principle to which the administrative body must conform. New Milford v. SCA Services of Connecticut, Inc., 174 Conn. 146, 149, 384 A.2d 337 (1977); State v. Stoddard, 126 Conn. 623, 628, 13 A.2d 586 (1940). The implications of such a confrontation are clear. Even if, arguendo, a literal reading of § 5 would confer unfettered discretionary authority upon the defendant, such a literal reading would have to be abandoned. "We are bound to assume that the legislature intended, in enacting a particular law, to achieve its purpose in a manner which is both effective and constitutional. Wagner v. Connecticut Personnel Appeal Board, 170 Conn. 668, 674, 368 A.2d 20 (1976); Whitfield v. Empire Mutual Ins. Co., 167 Conn. 499, 507-508, 356 A.2d 139 (1975); Amsel v. Brooks, 141 Conn. 288, 295, 106 A.2d 152, appeal dismissed, 348 U.S. 880, 75 S. Ct. 125, 99 L. Ed. 693 (1954)." Moscone v. Manson, 185 Conn. 124, 128, 440 A.2d 848 (1981). In determining the appropriate sphere of administrative authority, "a truly helpful rule in the search for . . . legislative intent . . . is that where one construction will sustain the validity of an act while another will not do so, a court is justified in adopting the former even at the expense of departing from the literal meaning of the words used." Wilson v. West Haven, supra, 654-55. We therefore do not accept the defendant's construction of the pension ordinance.
Having concluded that the trial court correctly determined that the defendant board had exceeded its authority by awarding Chief Howell a 70 percent pension, we must now determine whether the trial court erred in its order permanently enjoining the defendant from paying him such a pension. The defendant urges that this order was inappropriate for two reasons: (1) the proper remedy was to remand the matter to the defendant for reformulation of the pension payment and (2) the plaintiffs failed to show such irreparable injury as was required to sustain the injunction. We disagree with both of these claims of error.
With respect to the entry of an injunctive order in lieu of a remand, the defendant might have a stronger case if the trial court had issued a blanket injunction forbidding any pension payment whatsoever to Chief Howell. That, however, is not the tenor of the judgment. The court's injunction against payment of funds was carefully limited to preclude only "the payment of any funds for any purpose under the provisions of or related to the pension of Joseph C. Howell as presently formulated." (Emphasis added.) In light of the court's conclusions of law, such an order was clearly warranted. It in no way precluded the defendant from reconvening, at any time, to formulate a pension plan within the bounds set by the pension ordinance.
The defendant's attack on the order because of a claimed lack of a showing of "irreparable harm" is equally groundless. In part, this argument simply restates the proposition, which we have rejected, that injunctive relief was unauthorized because the defendant had discretion to award the 70 percent pension. For the rest, the argument that the trial court failed to re quire the plaintiffs to meet their evidentiary burden of proving irreparable harm comes too late. The record discloses that no issue with regard to irreparable harm was raised either during the hearing before the trial court or in the defendant's motion to reargue and set aside the judgment. Even if we were to consider this claim despite its lack of timeliness, we would be hard pressed to find error in the trial court's conclusion that those who have an interest in a pension fund are necessarily irreparably damaged by improper disbursements of fund assets. "Whether damages are to be viewed by a court of equity as 'irreparable' or not depends more upon the nature of the right which is injuriously affected than upon the pecuniary measure of the loss suffered." Robertson v. Lewie, 77 Conn. 345, 346, 59 A. 409 (1904).
There is no error.
In this opinion Healey, Parskey and Bieluch, Js., concurred.
At the hearing, the parties stipulated that the case would be decided on its merits rather than as a special hearing on the plaintiffs' application for a temporary injunction. The parties also stipulated that the plaintiffs had standing to bring their cause of action.
22 Spec. Acts 797, No. 399 (1937) reads:
"an act concerning the fire department of the first taxation DISTRICT OF THE TOWN OF WEST HAVEN.
"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
"Section 1. There shall be created in the first taxation district of the town of West Haven a fund known as the 'Firemen's Relief Fund.'
"Sec. 2. The board of finance of the town of West Haven shall annually appropriate to said fund a sum not less than five hundred dollars, the first appropriation thereto to be made upon the passage of this act.
"Sec. 3. The paid men of the department shall pay into said fund a sum equal to two per cent of their yearly salary, pro-rated monthly, in addition to the annual appropriation of the board of finance.
"Sec. 4. Said fund shall be under the control of a board of trustees which shall consist of the board of fire commissioners, the chief of the fire department, the marshal of the fire department, the first selectman and the treasurer of. the town of West Haven. The board of trustees shall make all rules and regulations for the control and deposit of said fund. The treasurer shall receive and deposit all moneys connected with said fund, and make such payments as ordered by a majority of the board of trustees.
"Sec. 5. When any permanent member'of the West Haven fire department shall have attained the age of sixty-five years, or shall have served for a period of not less than twenty-five years as a member of said department, and shall have paid into said fund as provided herein, he shall be retired on a monthly allotment equal to one-half of his regular monthly pay. Any paid man may be retired on account of illness, or being totally or partially incapacitated by injury, incurred in the discharge of his duty, after an examination by three reputable physicians, if any two shall certify in writing that such fireman is unable to perform to the full extent his duties as fireman, and he shall be allowed a pension as herein provided from said fund.
"Sec. 6. Each fireman, receiving pay as such at the time of the passage of this act, shall, before removal, be entitled to a hearing before the board of fire commissioners, on charges in writing, filed with such fireman six days before the time of such hearing, and, if aggrieved by any decision of such board, may appeal to the superior court for redress.
"Sec. 7. No future appointment shall be made to the permanent staff without an open competitive examination being held for the purpose of filling any vacancy that may exist. Such examination shall be conducted by a committee of three citizens named by the board of fire commissioners for such purpose."
33 Spec. Acts 137, No. 144 (1967) reads:
"AN ACT PROVIDING A MINIMUM PENSION FOR ANY PERMANENT MEMBER OF THE WEST HAVEN FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THE WIDOW OF A RETIRED MEMBER.
"Section 1. Section 5 of number 399 of the special acts of 1937, as amended, is amended to read as follows: When any permanent member of the West Haven fire department shall have attained the age of sixty years and shall have paid into said fund as provided herein, he shall be retired, or when any permanent member of said department has, or shall have, performed duty therein for a period of not less than twenty-five years, he shall, upon his application in writing, or at any time upon a physical examination made by three reputable physicians and certified by two such physicians showing that such member is permanently disabled, physically or mentally, so as to be unfit for duty, be retired from said service and placed on the pension list and shall be awarded an annual pension to be paid in monthly instalments, during his lifetime, at the rate of at least one-half of his annual salary at the time of his retirement, provided such member shall have contributed to the firemen's relief fund of West Haven fire department an amount equal to three per cent of his annual salary. In addition thereto, said member of the West haven fire department who has served more than twenty-five years in the fire department shall receive an additional two per cent of his basic salary at the time of his retirement for each year over and above the said twenty-five years of service, but in no event shall his pension exceed seventy per cent of his basic salary at the time of his retirement. No pension granted under the provisions of this section shall be revoked, repealed or diminished, and no member having a right to retire on a pension at the time this act shall take effect shall be deprived of such right by reason of his remaining a member of said fire department or by reason of any provisions of this act. No person eligible under the provisions of this act shall receive a pension of less than three thousand dollars a year.
"Sec. 2. The first sentence of section 4 of number 490 of the special acts of 1949 is amended to read as follows: Upon the death of any member of the West Haven fire department, who shall have served as a paid and permanent member and who shall have actually contributed to said firemen's fund, the widow of such member shall receive, until her death or remarriage, out of said fund, a monthly sum equal to one-half the compensation received by such member at the time of his death, if in active service, or a monthly sum equal to the full pension received by such member at the time of his death, if retired."
The evidence concerning prior practice was very imprecise. Steven Alderman, a member of the defendant board of trustees, and the only witness for the defense, testified that "the previous Chief had been retired also at seventy percent. ' ' Later he clarified that this was prior Chief William Johnson. On cross-examination, he noted that Johnson's retirement antedated the enactment of the present ordinance. There were few particulars about the service rendered by the prior chief.
At oral argument, counsel for the defendant advised the court that the board has since recalculated Howell's pension based upon his thirty-one years of service at the time of retirement at 62 percent of pay.