Local Government Law

After an attorney's bill of more than $600 for February, the town council passed a law Tuesday that limits the ability of the mayor and city clerk to call the attorney. The mayor and clerk were criticized for contacting the town attorney to answer what one council member called "useless questions . . . ." The solution was a new town law requiring that if the mayor, council member, or clerk need to discuss a town issue with the attorney, the mayor and at least three council members must approve the question before the call. Generally, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. In local government law, too much knowledge is a fate to be avoided at all costs.