SHUTESBURY — Expansion of an attorney’s work on behalf of the town’s Conservation Commission, including on matters outside the original scope of her appointment, is prompting the Selectboard to adopt a new policy aimed at bringing more control over such special counsels and reining in costs.

“The Contact with Town Counsel Policy,” unanimously adopted by the Selectboard at its July 11 meeting, comes after Selectboard Chair Rita Farrell said Elisabeth Goodman, a Pittsfield attorney, has provided legal advice beyond the terms of her appointment.

“There’s been creep on her scope, which is not OK,” Farrell said.

Farrell said Goodman was initially hired to assist with legal issues related to Lot O-32, the 66 Leverett Road site where a new library is slated to be constructed, after Donna MacNicol, the town counsel, alerted officials to a potential conflict. That conflict might arise for MacNicol as the town would be seeking permits to construct the new library, while the Conservation Commission may have to intervene to protect wetlands and prevent contamination.

Last summer, for instance, the commission issued an enforcement order against the town for violating local and state wetlands rules when soil was brought to the site by the Highway Department.

But Goodman, according to Farrell, has reviewed public records not related to Lot O-32 and assisted the Conservation Commission with applications for removal of beaver dams. Some tasks have been done without prior authorization from the Selectboard and are outside the terms of the initial engagement letter.

Conservation Commission Chair Miriam DeFant, though, said legal advice Goodman has provided is related to Lot O-32. She denied that there has been any “mission creep.”

The commission is also amending bylaws and regulations, with the idea of making it easier and less expensive for applicants to go through commission review, DeFant said.

“We want to do what’s best for the town,” DeFant said. “We want to do what’s best for everyone.”

The new policy makes it clear that boards can’t hire their own attorneys:

“Appointed or elected boards are prohibited from engaging their own counsel and may only engage town counsel upon written authorization from the Selectboard.”

Other aspects of the new policy include that multiple members of the Selectboard shouldn’t reach out to town counsel on their own, and that any requests for consultation, including legal review of new bylaws, will have to go through the town administrator.

“To control costs and to have effective local administration, neither elected nor appointed boards nor individual board members have the authority to seek legal guidance from town counsel without prior written authorization from the town administrator to do so about any particular issue,” the policy states.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.

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