Holden Sewer Lawsuit
At a glance
- What: Tony Economou asked the City Manager for a report on the city's handling of the Town of Holden sewer use lawsuit: its process and decision-making, a timeline of communications with state officials, and the legal factors that led the city to pay the final settlement.
- Where it stands: open. Order adopted as amended on 2026-07-21; report pending.
- Next: report pending. The minutes do not give the settlement amount.
The order
- Morris A. Bergman amended it to ask the City Solicitor to detail any qualifications or privileges on conversations with state officials.
- Khrystian E. King became a sponsor.
Debate (2026-07-21)
- The City Manager said the Holden litigation itself is resolved by a settlement, but the wider sewer-use dispute with the state and the other towns is not.
- Negotiations on a new sewer use agreement are under way, so some details cannot be disclosed, and he had no update ready for an executive session.
- The City Solicitor was not at the meeting.
Financial impact
- CFO, 2026-09-15: the Holden lawsuit cost the sewer fund about $10 million, helping drop sewer reserves from about $19 million to about $3.5 million.
Discussion time
About 10 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).
| Meeting | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2026-07-21 - City Council | 10 |
Log
- 2026-09-15 - Municipal and Legislative Operations Committee - In the FY2026 financial update the CFO said the Holden lawsuit cost the sewer fund about $10 million (a second Route 20 suit about $6 million), cutting sewer reserves from about $19 million to about $3.5 million; see FY2026 Year-End Financial Update.
- 2026-07-21 - City Council — Item 12n: adopted as amended (Bergman's privilege amendment) after questions from King to the City Manager. Per the captions, Tony Economou asked why the matter sat dormant and then was settled in a rush, and noted West Boylston and Rutland also use the system; King said some councilors feel those towns have not paid their share.