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Westborough finance committee approves $50,000 reserve transfer to cover legal costs
Summary
The WestPRO Advisory Finance Committee approved a $50,000 transfer from its reserve fund to the town’s legal budget after the town manager reported multiple ongoing lawsuits and that the legal account had “just under $12,000 remaining.” The vote was recorded 8–0–0.
The WestPRO Advisory Finance Committee on Thursday authorized a $50,000 transfer from the committee’s reserve fund to the town legal budget to cover expenses tied to several ongoing lawsuits.
Town Manager Christie told the committee the town is defending multiple cases — including four connected to 231 Turnpike (the former Bridal Cinema) — and that the existing legal budget for FY26, $145,000, has nearly been exhausted. "We currently have just just under $12,000 remaining in the budget," Christie said, and asked the committee to approve the transfer so the town can pay incurred legal costs.
Committee members questioned whether settlements might reimburse some legal costs and whether the annual legal line should be increased going forward. Christie said any reimbursement from a settlement would go to the general fund rather than directly to the legal line; she added that the town sometimes funds discrete legal items (for example, cable-contract negotiations) from warrant articles.
A committee member moved the transfer; a colleague seconded. The committee then voted in a roll-call style; members present recorded affirmative votes and the motion passed (final tally recorded in the meeting as 8 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain). Christie said the town will also consider asking Town Meeting to appropriate additional funds to cover legal expenses for the remainder of the fiscal year.
The committee’s approval is strictly a budget flow decision and does not signal any legal outcome in the ongoing cases. The transfer moves money from the AFC reserve into Line11513–5219A, the legal-services line, so the town can meet immediate obligations while staff continue to monitor litigation developments.
