Judge denies bid by diocese to dismiss Bishop Weldon sexual abuse lawsuit berkshireeagle.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from berkshireeagle.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
3:27
The legal bills to taxpayers are adding up in the fight between the City Council and the mayor over who should run the police department in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The city has paid out just under $60,000,so far, to a Worcester law firm to represent Mayor Domenic Sarno, who has vowed to appeal a judge’s ruling that a City Council approved ordinance creating a five-member Board of Police Commissioners is “valid and enforceable.”
Asked about the expense, Sarno declined to comment.
City Solicitor Ed Pikula said the city’s Law Department could not participate in a case that pits one branch of city government against the other, so an outside counsel had to be hired. The attorneys representing the City Council are not charging for their work.
Springfield police oversight lawsuit triggers nearly $60,000 in taxpayer expenses and rising
Updated May 14, 2021;
Posted May 14, 2021
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and Police Commissioner Cheryl Clapprood, left, have defended the current system of a single police commissioner to oversee the department. Springfield City Councilor Justin Hurst, right, criticized the mayor s cost of defending that system. in court and a planned appeal
Facebook Share
SPRINGFIELD A court battle between Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and the City Council around oversight of the Police Department has led to nearly $60,000 in legal costs, funded by taxpayers, related to the mayor’s defense.
The cost is expected to climb higher as Sarno appeals a judge’s ruling in the City Council’s favor.