New Tecumseth legal review points to hybrid in-house solution to meet future demands
Posted October 22, 2025
A sweeping review of New Tecumseth's municipal legal services recommends the creation of a hybrid role bringing routine legal and property tasks in-house.
The review, sparked by Ward 6 councillor Nicole Cox, is part of this afternoon's special working session of council, which also includes a second take of the draft 2026 budget meeting.
James J. Feehely, Feehely Gastaldi, has served as Town solicitor since day one of algamation in 1991. The Town also uses other law firms for specialized legal work, but save for some "minor tweaks" the legal services model has generally remained unchanged.
That model now faces scrutiny because of anticipated population growth — from 44,536 in 2024 to a projected 56,000 by 2031 — and corresponding increases in legal service demand.
The review found several key issues: fragmented legal advice across departments, limited oversight of legal expenditures and the absence of a central repository for legal opinions, which can result in duplication and delays, according to the report. “There is often very limited coordination between departments overall… the Town lacks a centralized repository for legal opinions and advice… oversight of legal expenditures is also limited.”
Five options are set out for councillors, with the recommended course is Option 4: the introduction of a Real Estate and Legal Analyst role. It preserves external counsel for specialized cases while bringing routine legal and property tasks in-house. Under Option 4, the annual cost is projected at $474,051 with potential savings of about $211,387, leading to net legal costs of approximately $262,665 — slightly above the 2025 legal operating budget of $249,000. The “do nothing” Option 5 (retain current model) carries the lowest immediate cost at $330,986 but offers the least long-term strategic value.
The logic: by hiring internal support to handle title searches, leases, nondisclosure agreements, and provincial offences act (POA) fine collections, the Town can reduce reliance on external counsel and improve responsiveness. The report notes the position could be temporarily funded through the Land and Property Sale Reserve to bridge the short-term gap.
The report conservatively estimates that improved POA fine collections could increase by at least $50,000 annually, potentially up to $200,000, given more than $2 million is currently owed to the Town
During the review, staff surveyed 19 management members across departments, analyzed three years of invoices and held interviews with counterparts in other municipalities.
Results showed a consistent increase in hours and invoices for legal work: between 2016 and 2021 there was roughly an eight per cent increase in legal hours aligned with population growth.
Regarding standardization, for example, the report highlights the absence of uniform protocols which means some departments may unnecessarily call in external counsel for tasks that could be handled internally.
As a next step, the report proposes that council receive this review for information and consider the recommended model in the 2026 budget cycle.
Click here for full report - http://alturl.com/4ipfu
