Billerica Select Board Hires New Town Counsel, Approves Manager at $235,000

BILLERICA — September 22, 2025 — Billerica Select Board replaces town counsel and approves town manager contract in marathon September 22 session. The board voted unanimously to appoint Harrington & Heap as the new municipal law firm, ending a year-long relationship with Brooks & Duransis amid board criticism of slow response times, billing disputes, and a missed opportunity on an AT&T water tower lease that may have spared the town part of a $2.5 million repainting cost. The board also unanimously approved a two-year contract for Acting Town Manager Chris Dillon at a starting salary of $235,000 — down from his requested $250,000 — with two percent annual increases and a stripped-down benefits package. Free cash was certified at $5,362,862. The board voted 3-2 to advance a petition article to October town meeting that would apply an elderly housing overlay to the 100-plus-acre Swanson Meadows golf course, over the objection of 73.5 and 87.5 percent of the two abutting condominium communities.