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City Counselor's office flags high turnover, growing litigation exposure and bigger judgment fund in FY27 request
Summary
City Counselor's Office told the committee FY27 staffing and litigation needs are acute: turnover has been high (37% current turnover), attorney vacancies remain, and the office proposed increasing the judgment fund (police-related claims to $8M) to address pending high-dollar cases.
Nancy Walsh, representing the City Counselor's Office, presented the office's FY27 budget priorities and warned the committee about staffing shortages and escalating litigation exposure.
Walsh said roughly 85% of the office's proposed budget is personnel (about $8.6 million for an authorized staffing level of 73), and that the office has experienced substantial departures (53 since January 2024, including 37 attorneys). The office currently has eight attorney vacancies and is coping with the workload by reallocating responsibilities. Walsh described the turnover as having both direct and hidden costs: reassigned dockets, time-consuming case handoffs, and increased need for outside counsel.
On litigation exposure, Walsh described several costly pending matters affecting the city and said the FY27 budget includes increased professional-services funding: $500,000 earmarked for wrongful-conviction defense, funds for workers' comp and employment matters, and an elevated judgment fund (proposed $8 million for police-related claims and $2 million for other claims) responding to pending verdicts and settlements. Committee members discussed how state control of police functions has affected who leads litigation and defended cases; Walsh said some police-related cases are now defended by the Attorney General's office while the city remains financially exposed to final judgments.
Members pressed about workload and the problem-properties unit; Walsh said the office piloted an affirmative litigation unit that handles large, complex cases (for example, certain mass landlords) and also operates a problem-properties unit that pursues nuisance and collection matters. She and committee members discussed the tradeoff of headcount vs. pay scale changes to retain mid-level attorneys and asked for follow-up on whether some positions could be regraded to improve recruitment and retention.
