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May 1, 2012 Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee Meeting May 1, 2012 Time and Location: Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Offices, 7:30 p.m. Members Present: Glenn Parker, Chair; John Bartenstein, Vice Chair and Secretary; Joe Pato, Vice Chair; Alan Levine; Eric Michelson; Richard Neumeier; Rob Addelson (non- voting, ex officio) Notpresent: Robert Cohen; Mollie Garberg; Jonina Schonfeld Others in attendance: David Kanter (member Capital Expenditures Committee); Deb Mauger (Selectman); Carl Valente (Town Manager); Paul Ash (School Superintendent); Mary Ann Stewart (School Committee Chair) The meeting was called to order at 7:36 p.m. Announcements. No announcements. Discussion of potential for in -house legal services. Mr. Neumeier led a discussion considering the merits of having in -house legal counsel for the Town's affairs. Mr. Neumeier observed that the abundance of recent law school graduates has led to a market favorable to clients hiring legal staff. Currently the town spends between $700K and $900K per year on outside counsel legal fees. It is possible that bringing some of the work in -house may reduce this expenditure, especially if a significant portion of the work is routine and doesn't need deep specialization. Dr. Ash reported that the school department uses four categories of legal services: special education, labor relations, student and general law. Special education and labor law require highly specialized work and account for the majority of legal services consumed by the school department — the exact breakdown of expenditures was not immediately available. For municipal services the majority of legal expenses stem from land use issues. Mr. Valente reported that Lexington has all the complexity facing a community like Brookline, which has in -house counsel, but does not have the volume to support the number of positions that would allow for specialization. Further analysis of the potential for savings requires a deeper investigation to determine if there is a large enough consumption of routine legal services not requiring deep specialization. Action: Mr. Parker will send a request to the Board of Selectmen and another to the School Committee asking them respectively to have the Town Manager and the School Superintendent consider the merits of bringing legal services in- house.