Aldermen hear request to move $1,005,000 into corporation counsel legal services budget

At a public hearing of the New Haven Board of Alders Finance Committee on April 2, 2025, city attorneys and budget staff described a proposed intra-budget transfer that would move funds from several departmental salary accounts into the corporation counsel's legal services budget and raise the maximums on seven existing legal service agreements.

The request would transfer specific amounts from multiple salary lines — including $160,000 from the finance salary account, $150,000 from the Office of Policy and Management and grants salary account, $100,000 from the registrar of voters contractual account, $235,000 from the parts department salary account, $100,000 from the health department salary account, $140,000 from a public works salary account and $120,000 from the office of building inspection and enforcement salary account — and would increase the corporation counsel legal services budget by $1,005,000, according to the published notice read at the meeting.

"I think, generally, the paperwork is self explanatory. This is not a new issue to us or to this committee," Pat King, corporation counsel, told the committee. King said the largest driver is ongoing litigation, in particular multiple wrongful-conviction lawsuits that require separate counsel for multiple defendants. "We are seeking contract increases for the 7 law firms that are listed in our submission," King said.

City staff said the firms named in the submission are long-standing outside counsel for particular areas of specialty. King described several roles: the firms Howard & Ludorf, Karsten & Talberg, Massini, Voccio & Jordan and Sussman, Duffy & Sigloff were identified as handling defense work in wrongful-conviction and police‑related litigation; Ford Harrison was cited for specialized consultation and for work before the state Election Enforcement Commission; and Lamar & Lana (as listed in the submission) was noted for general litigation and appeals tied to city property matters.

Shannon McHugh, budget director, told the committee staff expects similar pressures next year: "Going forward we can expect more of the same next year," McHugh said, noting discovery and depositions in the police-related cases will create ongoing costs.

Committee members asked about specialization and hourly rates. King said the city has historically obtained municipal rates below private‑market billing for these attorneys and named specific lead attorneys used on certain files. King also said the in‑house legal team has been able to retain more general litigation internally as staffing has improved.

No members of the public testified on the transfer request at the hearing. The committee did not vote on the transfer tonight because it lacked a quorum for formal action; committee leadership said the item will be discharged to the full Board of Alders for action at the board's next meeting to meet statutory timelines.

The committee closed the public‑hearing portion of the session by voice vote. Chair remarks at the end of the meeting noted the committee's plan to place remaining procedural readings on the board agenda at the next full meeting.

The Finance Committee will return on April 9 for its next scheduled meeting, which the chair said will include budget public hearings and departmental workshops.