By JOSEPH B. NADEAU

WOONSOCKET — News that the city’s Caruolo Act case is heading to a potential decision on Thursday prompted an emergency discussion of the matter by the City Council Monday night.

The topic surfaced after council members once again listened to local residents argue that they can’t afford to pay the increase in taxes coming with the just completed 2009-2010 city budget. It also prompted members of the panel to grill City Solicitor Robert C. Iuliano on options for heading off a decision favoring the school department in the $3.7 million school funding suit.
City Councilman John F. Ward requested the item be added for discussion in light of reports in the media about the day’s court events.
After the panel approved that addition, Iuliano offered a brief overview of the hearing and explained his request for more time to hire special counsel had been rejected by Superior Court Judge Daniel A. Procaccini.
The judge also indicated during the session that a performance audit would not be needed for him to decide the case and advised the sides to be prepared to present their arguments in court on Thursday, Iuliano told the council.
In ruling against the need to conduct an audit, the judge indicated that step would not be necessary since “the schools spent the money and the city is obligated to pay it,” Iuliano said. What will likely be decided Thursday is how much funding would have to be allocated to covering the deficit, Iuliano explained.
“The judge will tabulate and tell us how much the city will give,” he said.
That potential scenario draws questions over what process the court might follow in ordering the City Council to raise taxes to cover the deficit and what options the council had in implementing such a move, Iuliano said.
The city will be presenting arguments on Thursday in objection to such an order, he added.
Members of the Council, including Roger Jalette, Suzanne J. Vadnais and Stella Brien raised vocal alarm over the possibility of a decision coming down on Thursday and questioned Iuliano at length over how the city might still be able to secure special legal counsel to defend its position in the case even without the requested continuance.
“The taxpayers can’t afford to be spending money on the over expenditures of our school department,” Jalette said.
“How do we handle that,” he asked Iuliano.
Brien said that regardless of whether the money had been misappropriated, misspent “whatever you want to call it — they went over budget.”  In order to address that fact, Brien, an attorney, suggested Iuliano go to the judge and say that the city needs special counsel to be appointed because it was not prepared to defend the case.
“I am not of the opinion that we have to give up so easily,” Brien said. “These numbers are ridiculous and I don’t agree with it,” she said of the school department lawsuit for increased funding.
The funding request made by the department needs to be analyzed and “someone say this is where we went wrong,” she said.
Iuliano had already indicated he did not hold expertise in such education litigation and a judge should be willing to allow special counsel to be hired, she argued.
Vadnais asked why Iuliano had not called Council President Leo T. Fontaine before the session and explain the problem over obtaining special counsel for the matter.
“You said you did not have the expertise to do this case and you went into court and now you are sitting there telling us well he’s just going to make us pay the bill,” Vadnais said. “Well no, that’s not the way it’s going to be,” she added.
Vadnais suggested Iuliano speak to Mayor Menard today and find other options for co-counsel to appear with him at Thursday’s hearing to defend the case.
The city has no choice but to fight the case, Vadenais said. “The people in the city cannot afford it. Woonsocket is not an affluent community like other communities. We don’t have the money to pay for it,” she said.
The council also asked Iuliano about the options for appeal if the hearing on Thursday does result in a decision against the city. The attorney noted the city can file an appeal of a decision to the Supreme Court within 20 days and would then have to await a ruling of acceptance.
Jalette said the city should also be prepared to pursue that avenue with outside legal counsel if a decision does go against the city.
Several residents speaking during council’s good and welfare pointed to the city’s financial problems as raising the possibility that they will lose their homes. They also offered requests that the council seek legislative authority to abolish the school committee or convert the panel into an appointed city panel rather than an elected one.
Charles Lemoine of 174 Barnabe St., said he has already spoken to state Sen. Marc Cote about the matter and was told that the council must begin that process.
Lemoine said the school committee’s funding requests were becoming too much of a burden for residents to carry. The panel’s recent decision to hire an assistant superintendent was just another example of that fact, he said. “We’ve got to start somewhere,” Lemoine said while asking the council for help in getting a charter revision to that effect started.
Fontaine said that while state law requires school affairs to be managed by a school committee, there are options through charter revisions for determining how such panels are structured. “Any change of that nature would require a charter change,” Fontaine said. The council has already set a charter request for the coming election but could review options for further changes for another election cycle, he noted.