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Finance committee seeks breakdown of legal fees as MBTA lawsuit and public-records costs drive spending
Summary
Committee members asked staff to itemize categories driving high legal costs — public-records requests, union negotiations, and an MBTA lawsuit were cited — and requested cost and liability figures to weigh against grant opportunities.
Committee members pressed finance staff for more transparency on legal spending after Jim Walters and others called for a more granular breakdown of legal invoices.
"What's driving our high legal bills? Which category is really pulling that? Is it the lawsuits? Is it the land? General counsel overall?" a committee member asked. Lindsay said public-records requests and recent collective-bargaining negotiations were the largest FY26 drivers; she also noted the town is currently involved in an MBTA lawsuit.
Members asked Lindsay to gather liability figures tied to the MBTA litigation and to produce a clearer schedule showing how legal hours and dollars map to categories so the committee can compare legal spending with grant opportunities and other priorities.
Lindsay agreed to compile the requested data for the committee to review.
