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Lawrence council approves $2.0 million transfer for legal services and court judgments after executive session
Summary
After an executive session on litigation strategy related to police wage claims, the Lawrence City Council approved item 181-26 to transfer $1 million from the litigation reserve and $1 million from free cash, allocating $450,000 to legal services and $1,550,000 to the court judgments account.
The Lawrence City Council on Tuesday approved a $2.0 million budget transfer to cover legal services and court judgments tied to ongoing litigation, following an executive session on strategy.
The council voted to transfer $1 million from the litigation reserve and $1 million from free cash; those funds were allocated as $450,000 to legal services and $1,550,000 to the court judgments account, the city attorney told the council. "I'm asking that from the litigation reserve amount of $1 million be transferred... and into legal services in the amount of $450,000 and into the court judgments in the amount of $1,550,000," the city attorney said during discussion.
The attorney explained the need for the transfers was driven by potential settlements and outstanding legal bills and that some case-specific information could not be discussed in open session. The council voted to enter executive session for "strategy and possible resolution of ongoing litigation," returned to open session and then approved the underlying transfer motion.
During the discussion the city attorney referenced a court precedent that has shaped the claims, saying the issue "is a result of an appeals court case of Daniel Lott versus the town of Brewster" and described that as the legal basis limiting the municipality's options. The attorney also noted statute-of-limitation considerations discussed with the council: a three-year period for wage-act claims and a six-year common-law contract theory.
Council members asked procedural questions about what could be discussed in public versus what required executive session; the attorney said the city could disclose the transfer amounts but not settlement strategy. The motion carried in open session after the council returned from executive session.
The council did not record a roll-call vote count in the public transcript for the final approval; the motion was announced as approved in open session.
