How Did Goshen Far Overspend Its Legal Services Budgets?
Goshen’s expenditures for legal services are on a steep upward incline. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2022/2023 the budget was $2500. In FY 2023/2024 it increased to $6000. The FY 2024/2025 budget, the year we are currently in, is $10,000, a 300% increase in just 2 years, but half-way through the fiscal year that budget has already been significantly exceeded, necessitating additional appropriations by the Board of Finance. Although that’s not a major component of the Town’s overall budget, the rate of growth in legal services expenditure raises legitimate questions about what has caused the increases and whether those additional expenditures were worthwhile.
The Goshen News obtained copies of invoices for legal services dating back to May 2024, and upon review, it was observed that three situations were at the core of the sudden rise in legal costs:
- The Library Board
- The Board of Education Election
- The Acquisition of 190 Sharon Turnpike
The Library Board struggled with several issues, including an attempt to censor a book that some considered troublesome based on its content (that ultimately failed), allegations of misconduct by a Library Board member that lead to complaints from employees, an accusation by a Library Board member that another Board member had violated fiduciary responsibilities by talking to the Press (unsupported), and a contentious investigation of the role and financial contributions of The Friends of the Library, whose entire mission is to support the library and its programs. The firm of Letizia, Ambrose & Falls invoiced the Town $2,711.40 in July 2024, $601.24 in May, and $777.23 in August, a total of $4,089.87, after courtesy discounts of $914.02.
The Board of Education Election on June 17th may continue to run up legal fees, nearly 7 months later. Initially aimed at resolving an election outcome in the face of allegations of voting irregularities that had the potential to change the outcome of the election, that was just the beginning of the expenses associated with the vote at the June Town Meeting. Once a decision to certify the election results was reached, expenses continued to mount up as challenges were filed with the State Elections Enforcement Commission, whose investigation is still ongoing. The firm of Carmody, Torrance, Sandak and Hennessy was paid $4,848.00 for their work in July 2024, $11,781.00 for work performed in August, $1,336.50 for work in September, $6,963.00 for work in October, and $285.00 for work in November, a total of $24,928.50, roughly two and a half times the Town’s Legal services budget for the entire year.
The Acquisition of 190 Sharon Turnpike, and the plan to use the site for construction of a new Public Works facility, lead to the filing of 2 legal actions against the Town, including a lawsuit in the Superior Court against the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission, and a Freedom of Information Appeal. The law offices of Mark Connolly billed the Town $6,738.95 in June 2024. Ultimately, the initiative to use the site for a town garage crumbled in the face of widespread public opposition.
The total of these expenditures stood at $35,756.87 as of November, nearly twice the total of the last 3 years’ budgets, with 7 months to go in the current fiscal year. Town residents will have to decide whether this was a good use of resources and whether that will impact their votes in the municipal elections that will take place in November.
