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County attorney highlights reassessment workload and outside-counsel costs in FY26 law office budget
Summary
County Attorney Aaron Goldstein told council the Office of Law faces increasing work from the countywide property reassessment and that outside counsel costs are difficult to forecast; he proposed tighter invoicing guidelines and noted the office has remained at the same headcount since FY2020.
Aaron Goldstein, New Castle County attorney, presented the Office of Law9s FY26 budget and said the office faces a significant workload from the county9s real property reassessment, including representation for property-assessment appeals and related litigation.
Goldstein told council the reassessment work has created large volumes of new legal work that require resources and careful budgeting for outside counsel. He said the law office9s headcount has remained static for seven budget cycles and that the office plans to adopt mandatory outside-counsel invoicing guidelines to better predict and manage outside counsel expenses.
Goldstein walked council through the office9s accomplishments in litigation, risk management and representation of departments and noted plans to maintain success rates in litigation and to manage outside-counsel spending. He estimated conservatively that the in-house lawyers defray roughly $8.23 million a year in legal costs compared with outside counsel rates, noting this estimate excludes additional attorneys funded elsewhere in county budgets.
Council members questioned criteria for using outside counsel versus in-house staff and whether adding senior attorneys to the office would reduce outside counsel use. Goldstein said decisions rely on multiple variables, including the need for specialized expertise and office bandwidth, and that increasing in-house capacity could help if obligations grow.
Council members also raised diversity and recruitment concerns. Councilman Street noted he rarely sees outside-counsel teams that include Black lawyers and urged the county to address diversity when contracting outside counsel. Goldstein discussed the Delaware judiciary9s diversity initiatives and said the Office of Law is committed to improving diversity internally and in outside engagements.
Why it matters: the law office budget and decisions about outside counsel affect litigation exposure, settlements and the county9s legal costs as reassessment appeals proceed.
Next steps: Goldstein said the office will pursue invoicing guidelines for outside counsel, monitor reassessment-driven workload and continue recruitment efforts; councilors signaled interest in considering additional senior attorney positions.
