Finance Committee approves end-of-year transfers after discussion of legal bills and workers’ compensation risk

The Brockton City Council Finance Committee recommended several end-of-year fund transfers after hearing from City Solicitor James O’Brien and CFO Dr. Troy Clarkson about rising outside counsel bills and workers’ compensation costs.

Committee members approved transfers to move funds into law department purchase-of-service and workers’ compensation accounts to cover litigation-related costs. The mayor’s submission included transfers such as $375,000 from law personal services (non-overtime) and further reassignments intended to cover outside counsel and settlements; the committee voted to recommend the package favorably.

Dr. Troy Clarkson told the committee the city had provided updated expense reports and that the transfers reflected end-of-year adjustments. “We have provided to you the report... so you would have accurate information on which to base your decisions for all three of the transfers before you tonight,” he said. He also said the city pays property, auto, cyber and crime insurance and that current estimates appeared sufficient.

City Solicitor James O’Brien said many outside-counsel matters were inherited when he joined the office and described outstanding bills tied to preexisting cases. “There are a lot of these cases we inherited,” O’Brien said, noting invoices from outside firms including a KP Law bill discussed in the hearing. Councilor DeCastro pressed for more detail about how much work is retained in-house versus referred to outside counsel; O’Brien said some cases have been ongoing for a year or two and that certain payments must be made to close older invoices.

Councilors also focused on workers’ compensation. When asked about the number of pending cases and the city’s approach, the solicitor and CFO said they are working with a third-party administrator, have settled several cases with lump-sum payments and are sending employees to independent medical exams as contractually required. Dr. Clarkson said the administration is exploring reinsurance to limit the city’s exposure on very large workers’ compensation claims, similar to the existing reinsurance arrangement for the city’s health plan that kicks in for claims above about $425,000.

The committee requested a fuller briefing on outstanding court judgments, litigation liabilities and a breakdown of outside-counsel spending during the upcoming budget process. The motion to recommend the transfers passed; councilors said they would revisit details during the budget cycle.

Votes at a glance: The committee voted to recommend the mayor’s proposed transfers to the full City Council; separate motions to recommend a $5,000 parking authority transfer and a $250,000 police overtime transfer also passed. Specific roll-call tallies were not recorded in the transcript.

The Finance Committee’s recommendation will go to the full City Council for final action.