The Taunton City Council voted down the city’s supplemental budget on Wednesday, leaving proposed funding for firefighters, a pension payment for a city employee serving overseas, and a part-time worker who places flags on veterans’ graves unapproved. The Taunton Daily Gazette reported that councilors cited the absence of money for the council to hire its own attorney as a reason for rejecting the package.
Firefighters, Veterans' Flags Caught in the Crossfire
The package grouped three proposed allocations: funding for Taunton firefighters, a pension payment for a city employee serving overseas, and support for the part-time flag-placement position, according to the Taunton Daily Gazette.
The Gazette reported that the council’s objection was the lack of funding for its own attorney. The available account attributes the no vote to that omission; it does not establish whether councilors had other concerns about the proposed allocations.
Council Wants Its Own Legal Counsel
The council was seeking an attorney separate from the city’s existing legal representation, the Gazette reported. Its account did not specify what matters the council wanted that lawyer to handle.
What the records show about legal counsel
Taunton’s FY 2027 budget presentation describes the Law Department as providing legal counsel to the Mayor, City Council, and city departments, according to the City of Taunton. That description does not establish whether a separate council attorney was requested in this supplemental budget or how Massachusetts law governs supplemental appropriations in Taunton. A 2003 Massachusetts Appeals Court decision held that creating a city-council counsel position in Boston required mayoral approval because it would reorganize Boston’s Corporation Counsel’s office. The ruling concerned Boston’s legal framework and does not determine Taunton’s rules, according to the Massachusetts Appeals Court.
What the city charter record shows
The City of Taunton says its current charter was approved May 26, 1909, and accepted by the city November 2, 1909. The city also says a motion passed on September 26, 2023, instructing the Elections Director not to put a proposed revised charter on the November 2023 ballot; the proposal was referred to the Law Department and Chief Election Officer for further review. That charter history does not specify how legal representation is allocated between the City Council and other city branches, so the available information does not resolve that question.
The Gazette's account did not specify the supplemental budget's total, the amounts assigned to each item, the vote tally, or which councilors supported or opposed it. It also did not say whether the budget would be revised, reconsidered, or brought back for another vote.
