Selectmen Delay Decision on Sudbury's Town Counsel Services

Sudbury's decision on whether to extend the current contract of Town Counsel Paul Kenny long term or look to hire new services will wait until after the Board of Selectmen expands to five members.

During its June 4 meeting, the current three-member Board agreed such a decision should be made with all five members present.

"We shouldn't tell the new board we have new counsel for three years," Selectman John Drobinski said. "It looks unfair to the new board."

Before the Board expands to five, the current Board has one more meeting on June 18, followed by the Special Town Election on June 25. The first meeting of the new five-member Board is slated for July 9.

Kenny's current contract expires June 30. To bridge the gap, the Board discussed possibly extending the contract on a short-term basis.

"Don't just cut things off, (it) wouldn't be good for new counsel or for all institutional knowledge old counsel has," Drobinski said.

A decision on whether to extend the contract will be made at the June 18 meeting.

Town Manager Maureen Valente asked the Board to treat the decision on whether to hire new counsel as one of its most important.

"I encourage the Board (to view this decision as) one of the most serious ones you are going to make," she said. "On behalf of the department heads, if the decision is for new counsel, that the Board puts together a process to talk to the people who use the services on regular basis."

"Going forward we want to do what's best for all of Sudbury," Drobinski said. "While we need good legal advice and services, we have to be true to the taxpayers and make sure they are getting value for the dollar."