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Committee debates adding 'Department of Law' to Methuen charter; no vote taken
Summary
Committee members debated whether to place detailed Department of Law language in the charter or leave duties to ordinance/municipal code, with concerns about mayoral authority and past outside‑counsel bills; motion to amend Section 2‑8(c) was made and seconded but not voted.
A lengthy exchange at the Sept. 18 Methuen City Charter Review Committee meeting centered on whether the charter should explicitly establish a Department of Law and specify the city solicitor's role, or whether such operational details belong in ordinance or municipal code.
Jennifer Canan presented a consolidated one‑page proposal that replaces 'city solicitor' language with a 'Department of Law' heading and directs more detailed duties to the Methuen municipal code. She moved to amend Section 2‑8(c) to reflect that structure and to allow an ordinance to specify the department’s duties; the motion was seconded but the committee did not record a vote during the session.
Members raised several recurring concerns. Former elected officials and current committee members recounted past incidents in which outside counsel was retained without broad council awareness and where the city later faced sizeable bills. One committee member described an outside law‑firm bill that accumulated to about $650,000 over multiple years; members agreed that the ordinance passed in 2013 (Sec. 2.24) requires council approval for outside counsel but said prior practice had not always followed that rule.
Paul, referenced in discussion as the city solicitor, explained that the client of the solicitor's office is the city as a whole and outlined statutory rights the school committee retains for some hiring and bargaining functions. Legal counsel and several committee members cautioned that placing prescriptive operational rules in the charter could create rigidity and unintended consequences; others argued that the charter is an appropriate place to lock in protections so future councils cannot bypass controls.
The committee discussed three primary models for selecting or approving a city solicitor: (1) mayor recommends and council approves, (2) council recommends and mayor approves, or (3) a three‑person search committee (mix of councilors and a mayoral designee) vets candidates and recommends to the full council. Several members favored a hybrid search‑committee approach to preserve council authority while ensuring mayoral input.
Chair directed outreach to the city council chair and the mayor for their input. The committee will revisit Section 2‑8 and the proposed Department of Law language at its next meeting on Oct. 9, 2025.
