To The Editor:

Newtown's proposed budget asks for $300,000 in legal services and, based on the last two years, it still won't be enough. The Town spent over $270,000 in both 2024 and 2025. Not combined. Each. This year we're already on pace to exceed that. It’s up $100,000 from just two years ago, a 50% increase. What are we paying for?

$32,000 in 2025 to defend a decision about reclassifying a dirt “road” against a lawsuit that’s simply a legal maneuver to block Castle Hill from getting built. $30,000 defending a housing denial that the town may likely lose in court. Meanwhile, the Borough is facing a 12% budget increase with nearly a quarter of its budget consumed by Castle Hill lawsuits — cutting sidewalks and fire hydrants to pay lawyers, with the Warden offering his personal stipend to help cover the bills. These cases aren't over. Expect the same bills next year. And the year after.

$100,000 increase in the legal budget. That’s nearly two starting teachers. It's one and a half police officers directing traffic at our schools. Instead, it's going to lawyers to relitigate decisions that were already made democratically: public hearings, open debate, a vote. The people who lost that vote are entitled to their opinion. They're entitled to keep making their case to their fellow voters. But the rest of us — the parents, the seniors, the families just trying to stay in a town they love — we're the ones paying when they decide to take it to court.

I'm not angry, just disappointed. Is this really what we want to spend our money on?

Samuel Grummons

Newtown