Shelter Island Town Considers Abolishing Town Attorney’s Office

The Shelter Island Town Board is moving forward with a proposal to abolish the formal office of the Town Attorney, a change officials say would give the town greater flexibility to hire outside legal counsel and reduce costs.

During a public hearing at the board’s July 21 meeting, interim Town Attorney Steven Kiely explained that the measure would replace the single in-house attorney model with the ability to contract legal services on a case-by-case basis.

“The rationale is to give the town board more flexibility in how it procures legal services rather than have an individual who is an officer of the town and serves in the position of town attorney,” Kiely said. “This law allows the town board to retain such legal services as are required. It can be from law firms. It could be from individuals, independent contractors, employees.”

Kiely noted that a town attorney designated as an officer of the town cannot be easily removed if the board decides to make a change.

“The only way a town attorney who is an officer of the town can be removed is by a lawsuit initiated in the appellate division of the Supreme Court of the state of New York,” he said. “This will provide the board with the flexibility to do so without that step.”

The idea of outsourcing legal work raised questions from residents about transparency and specialization. Resident Julie Brennan asked whether the change would allow the board to “cherrypick” attorneys for specific issues, such as wetlands permits and dock applications.

“To what degree is this decision to remove the office of town attorney an effort to potentially hire a law firm where you would be able to kind of cherrypick, you know, here’s a wetlands thing, here’s a dock permit, or some other permit that we need to look at?” Brennan asked. “Is this an opportunity for you to open it up to different areas of expertise?”

Pam Demarest, another resident, supported the move, highlighting potential cost savings. Shelter Island is the least populous of the 13 town jurisdictions on Long Island, and according to a 2023 report by the Shelter Island Board of Ethics, the town attorney makes around $145,000 per year.

“I think that this is actually a wise decision for the town board to make,” she said. “It does allow you the flexibility to hire attorneys that you need on specific applications and it certainly is a cost-savings venture because you’re not paying benefits or healthcare insurance to the like of an officer of the town.”

Town board members did not comment extensively during this hearing but it was confirmed by the board that the proposal had been discussed during a prior work session. This resolution is still under review, to be finalized at a future meeting.

Shelter Island appears to be the first town in Suffolk County to abolish its town attorney’s office, according to Richard Schaffer, chair of the Suffolk County Association of Town Supervisors.

“The association supports the right of each town to determine how it wants to be run and governed,” Schaffer said.

Neighboring Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski said Shelter Island’s move aligns with a broader push for fiscal efficiency among local governments.

“In light of most towns piercing the tax cap last year, I think everyone is moving towards making the government as efficient as possible,” Krupski said.

If the motion is approved, it would make the town’s current practice of hiring outside legal counsel for specialized legal issues a formality. Officials have not yet specified which law firms or counsel they plan to utilize for legal services.