Townsend board agrees to publish redacted roll-up of legal costs and to review municipal transfers

Townsend’s Select Board on June 16 voted to ask town counsel to produce a redacted, categorical summary of legal spending and to prepare municipal-transfer details for the close of fiscal year 2026.

The town administrator described why legal costs exceeded budget this year, saying the town shifted from a flat monthly billing model to hourly billing and that several costly matters—land-use issues, union negotiations and contract reviews—contributed to the overrun. The administrator and town counsel proposed producing a non‑itemized roll-up that would break legal spending into categories (for example: land use, contract review, labor negotiations) without disclosing privileged specifics. “We can redact it but instead like they can still give us that but they can also give us a roll up basically,” Kieran said when describing the proposed approach.

Board members supported increased transparency while noting limits. A Select Board member said the proposal would provide taxpayers useful context without breaching privilege, and another encouraged quarterly reporting. Town counsel confirmed some invoice details remain attorney‑client privileged and cannot be released. The board approved a motion to request the roll-up and to work with counsel on the frequency and format of the public summaries.

The board also reviewed preparations for FY26 municipal transfers, noting likely reallocations in the town‑administrator salary line, facilities, police overtime and other functional segments. The town administrator said staff will present a PowerPoint explaining the proposed transfers at the June 30 meeting and that the town has until mid‑July to finalize adjustments.

Next steps: staff will coordinate with town counsel to produce the first redacted legal‑cost roll‑up (timing and cadence to be determined) and will present a municipal‑transfer briefing at the June 30 meeting for board action, if needed.