Politics & Government
Foxborough Selectmen Bring Back Gelerman as Town Counsel
The Foxborough Board of Selectmen agreed to rehire attorney Richard Gelerman and his firm, Gelerman and Cabral, LLC as town counsel. Gelerman has 30 years of experience as town counsel in Foxborough.
A familiar face is returning to Foxborough as town counsel after the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously Tuesday to enter contract negotiations with attorney Richard “Dick” Gelerman and his law firm, Gelerman and Cabral, LLC.
This is hardly a new business venture for either side. Gelerman served Foxborough for nearly 30 years as town counsel before leaving in 2008. Four years later, it was Gelerman’s experience and familiarity with the town that made him and his firm the top choice to replace attorney Paul DeRenis of Deutsch Williams, who has been serving as Town Counsel since Gelerman’s departure.
“[Gelerman] probably knows more history [about Foxborough] than anyone in this room,” said Foxborough selectman Lynda Walsh at Tuesday’s meeting. “Some firms that have looked into Foxborough don’t have the knowledge that [he] already has.”
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after the board voted in
At the June 19 interview, Gelerman said he set his firm apart from the other five with his “historic knowledge of this community.” The selectmen agreed and brought his firm back for a second interview Tuesday along with a second finalist, Blatman, Bobrowski & Mead, LLC. Each firm interviewed with selectmen for 30 minutes followed by a discussion from the board. After debate on whether to vote on a decision at Tuesday’s meeting or table discussion until the July 24 BOS meeting, Walsh motioned for the board to enter contract negotiations with Gelerman and Cabral, LLC for the position of Town Counsel.
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That motion carried with a 5-0 vote in favor of bringing Gelerman back to a town he has three decades of experience with.
During Tuesday’s interview, Gelerman told members of the board how he viewed the position of Town Counsel in Foxborough and what the town should expect from him and his firm.
“I’ve never seen a town counsel position as a policy position – it isn’t,” Gelerman said. “Policy is made by [the Board of Selectmen]. We advise, we give legal advice, we give counsel but at the end of the day, policy decisions are made by the board.”
Gelerman said he expects to respond to the town’s policies rather than suggest policy changes or direction, but he will still provide legal counsel on those decisions, especially when they are difficult.
“It’s obvious that you’ve gone through some difficult times,” Gelerman said. “I was saddened to see the difficulties you had. It strikes me frankly that you are in a calmer, better place now than you were several months ago and it’s good to see that.”
Gelerman added he and his firm will work with the board through a joint process in negotiations and other decisions for the town.
“So if we are negotiating a contract on your behalf, we will work - as we go along – with whoever the town designates so we are in lockstep together,” Gelerman said. “You know what we are doing and we understand what the board’s desires and interests are. So when we come to the end of an agreement, the board knows what that agreement involves.”
Mike Cabral, who was present at the June 19 and July 10 interviews, told the selectmen the town would be getting more than just Gelerman if the firm was hired.
“We have four attorneys in our firm,” Cabral said. “Everyone in our firm is versed in municipal law. Everyone comes from a municipal law background as well. If Dick isn’t able to be at a meeting, I will be at a meeting or one of our associates will be at a meeting. We have been representing municipalities or involved in municipal law for quite some time.”
Gelerman expanded on Cabral’s message.
“The way we work is you are never working against or with one lawyer … it’s always as a team,” Gelerman said. “We generally work on issues in tandem, sometimes more than that. It isn’t just me - there’s some others in the firm.”
Cabral assured the board this process works because each associate at Gelerman & Cabral is updated on town issues regularly.
“As a firm, we keep in touch, we know the issues going on in the town,” he said. “Everyone in our firm knows what’s happening with our clients.”
Gelerman highlighted several other reasons why he and his firm are the best fit for Foxborough:
“We are nearby, we are local and we know the town,” Gelerman said. “The town knows us, we are accessible … we are responsive. We are not so big that you can’t reach us and we are not so small that we are not responsive.” …
“I’ve done this kind of work for decades and we think successfully,” Gelerman said. “I think the fact that we’ve been reappointed so many times in the communities we represent is proof of that.” …
“I’m familiar with the billboard work, the stadium and Patriot Place,” Gelerman said.
“I think with our firm there’s little risk,” Gelerman said. “You know who we are, you know how I operate and you know my history with Foxborough.”
The experienced attorney added the transition to Foxborough would be much smoother for him and his firm than it would be any other firm.
“I would meet, not on your dime, with Paul [DeRenis] as we did before [in 2008 when DeRenis was replacing Gelerman] and go through anything that may be pending,” Gelerman said. The transition last time was fine. The ramp up time would obviously be a lot shorter than for others.”
He also addressed the misconception some people in town may have about him being “passive.”
“Sometimes it’s a stick in my craw that people take me for passivity. … You say what you’re going to do and you do what you’re going to say and everybody is fine,” Gelerman said. … “I am a gentle person, there’s no question about it. I try to work matters to resolve. You’ll never see me banging the table. I think that’s in the client’s interest. If you can avoid litigating, you should. It’s time consuming, it’s expensive, it’s unpredictable and you don’t know where it’s going to come out. If you can avoid it you should. But sometimes you can’t and then you have to litigate.”
Satisfied with what Gelerman and Cabral had to say, Sullivan called the firm’s interview “compelling.”
“[Gelerman showed] he’s willing to get back and help Foxborough get through what it’s going through and work together with Foxborough again and pick up where he left off and move forward,” he said.
The vice-chair also thanked the town’s other finalist, Blatman, Bobrowski & Mead, LLC.
“I was very impressed with the other client to,” Sullivan said. “Somebody has to finish second.”
The Next Step: Negotiating a Contract
Town Manager Kevin Paicos said he could not find a contract for Town Counsel “as far back” as he could search and wasn’t sure what terms of a contract the board wanted to negotiate with Gelerman.
Sullivan told Paicos “hourly rate versus fixed rate” but Paicos said those terms already exist in Gelerman’s proposal he submitted through the interview process.
Board of Selectmen chair James DeVellis said he prefers the town have a contract with town counsel because it protects the town and Paicos agreed.
“I think you need to have a contract and that’s a good idea,” Paicos said. “The problem is, I don’t know what it is you’ve got in mind. I guess what I’m suggesting to you is before you bring the people in with whom you go into contract … you need to have your discussion without that person sitting here in front of you about what it is.”
DeVellis suggested the town set up a meeting with Paicos, Gelerman and one of the members from the Board of Selectmen and draft a contract that can be put on the July 24 meeting agenda and reviewed and discussed in public.
Paicos and the board agreed to move forward with DeVellis’ suggestion. The town expects to set up a meeting with Gelerman next week with the hope of reaching an agreement at the July 24 BOS meeting. If all goes well, Gelerman will transition into his role as town counsel on Aug. 1.
About Gelerman
Gelerman currently serves as town counsel for Sharon, a position he has held for more than 20 years. He was born in Malden, graduated law school from Cornell University and is the author of "Low and Moderate Income Housing Procedures Before Local Boards of Appeal," January 1988; "Subdivision Control Law, Presenting a Proposed Subdivision Before Planning Board," April 1988; "Adult Day Care Centers and the Dover Amendment," April 2001.
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