Opinion ID: 1925667
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Johnston Town Charter

Text: To determine the effect of Johnston's Town Charter on the school committee's right to hire independent counsel, we begin our analysis, as always, with the language of the disputed charter provisions: Sec. 6-4. Duties.  The town solicitor shall be the attorney for the town and legal advisor to the mayor, town council, and all other departments, offices and agencies of the town government and shall direct the work of the assistant solicitors. It shall be the duty of the town solicitor to: (1) Appear for and protect the rights of the town in all actions, suits and proceedings, civil or criminal, in law or equity, brought by or against it or for or against any of its departments, including the board of canvassers and registration; (2) Examine and make recommendations in the form of all ordinances and resolutions and the form of all initiations for bids, contracts and other documents sent out by any department, office or agency of the town; (3) Perform such other duties appropriate to his office as the provisions of this Charter, the Mayor and/or the town council may require. (Emphasis added.) Sec. 6-6. Special powers. The statement in this Charter of duties of the town solicitor shall not be deemed to abridge such special powers and duties as are now and hereafter conferred upon town solicitors by law; however, no department or agency shall employ any other attorney at the expense of the town or through the use of any funds from the federal government or other source, unless otherwise provided by this Charter, or unless the town council shall approve such employment by ordinance. Any such attorney so authorized by the town council shall be subordinate to the town solicitor and in all litigation to which the town may be a party, said attorney shall be under the direction of the town solicitor.  (Emphasis added.) The school committee contends that sec. 6-4 of the charter does not impact its right to hire independent counsel because the school committee is not a department[ ], office[ ], [or] agenc[y] of the town government, and thus it does not fall within the language of the charter. It further maintains that sec. 6-6 has no bearing on whether the school committee may employ its own lawyer because the portion of that provision addressing this issue has not been ratified by the General Assembly.