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Council weighs replacing town attorney after delays and missed follow-through on ordinances
Summary
Council members raised concerns about the responsiveness of the town attorney ('Todd'), citing delays in completing ordinances and follow-up work; members asked staff to check for any binding contracts and the procedures required to solicit new counsel if needed.
Several council members urged the town to consider replacing its current attorney, whom they said has been slow to act on council directives and follow up on post-approval items.
Speaker 7 led the discussion, arguing some recent ordinance work and approvals were not carried forward to completion: "he wrote those ordinances for us ... and he completely forgot that he even did that," Speaker 7 said. Councilors described repeated delays and said important follow-up — calls and paperwork after meetings — sometimes did not happen. Speaker 7 said the preferred alternative would be an attorney who will "educate us" about legal risks and, if the council decides to proceed despite counsel’s disagreement, nevertheless execute the council’s decisions in a timely fashion.
The council discussed conflict-of-interest constraints: Speaker 2 said he previously approached a local attorney (Jason May) who indicated interest but may have conflicts preventing representation; the council agreed to review whether a standing contract exists with the current attorney and to research procurement and hiring rules before soliciting bids. Speaker 2 recommended contacting Todd to ask whether a contract obligates the town before taking further steps.
Members said they are open to paying higher hourly rates if faster turnaround reduces total cost and staff time. The council asked the appropriate staff member to check for contracts and return with options for hiring outside counsel or opening a bidding process.
