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Town counsel: CPC cannot use grant agreements to bind town departments; use town‑meeting conditions and letters of expectation
Summary
Town counsel Jay Talaman told the Community Preservation Committee that grant agreements are appropriate for private recipients but not for contracting with town entities, and recommended using town‑meeting conditions, letters of expectation and gatekeepers to protect CPC funds and ensure preservation restrictions are recorded.
Town Counsel Jay Talaman told the Community Preservation Committee that the committee and town cannot lawfully use grant agreements to contract with the town itself and advised the CPC to rely on town‑meeting votes, letters of expectation and administrative “gatekeepers” when it needs enforceable conditions.
Talaman said the legal problem was simple: “You can't sign a contract with yourself.” He explained that many municipal actors are parts of the same legal entity, so a town cannot enter into a binding contract with itself and a contract purporting to do that would be a legal nullity.
Why this matters: CPC funds are often spent on town…
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