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Council adopts memorandum of agreement on use of outside legal counsel after compromise
Summary
After weeks of negotiation the council voted 8–1 to adopt an MOA with the mayor that clarifies when the council may seek outside legal counsel and allows a nonbinding second legal opinion process; proponents described the MOA as a compromise to protect future councils and preserve oversight.
Fall River City Council voted to adopt a memorandum of agreement clarifying the process for obtaining outside legal counsel and for when the council may seek a second, nonbinding legal opinion.
Council Vice President Dion said the MOA was intended to be "a bridge between the city council and the administration" and emphasized the document was a compromise crafted to protect the institution rather than bind individual leaders. "There was compromise that went in," Dion said, and he urged members to view the agreement as protecting the council's ability to seek reassurance while not attempting to override corporation counsel.
Other councilors who participated in drafting and reviewing the MOA said the text preserves the council's authority to request a second legal opinion while recognizing limits imposed by corporation counsel and the administration. Councilor Kadeem said he would introduce a resolution to remove related language from any overlapping ordinance, and council members thanked leadership and corporation counsel for their work on the agreement.
The motion to adopt the MOA was made, seconded, and approved on a roll-call vote of 8 ayes and 1 nay.
