City Council v. Mayor of Boston

We are asked to decide whether the Boston city council (council) has authority to establish and fill the position or office of “counsel for the city council” absent the approval of the mayor of Boston.

The question arises because, on or about December 1, 1999, the council passed an order establishing a permanent position of “counsel for the city council.” Said counsel would carry out *543certain duties, detailed in the order, that are related to the council’s business.1 Two weeks later, the city of Boston’s *544corporation counsel advised the council’s president that, based upon the city charter and…