Amanda Purcell is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media Hudson Common Council will vote May 15, on an override of Mayor Rick Rector’s veto of a resolution to allow the council to hire its own attorney. The measure was unanimously approved April 17. Common Council President Tom DePietro denies that any conflict exists between the council and the mayor. “There was a need to assert that we are a coequal branch of the government,” 5th Ward Alderwoman Eileen Halloran said. According to the law, Common Council can request an attorney by resolution, but the decision to hire another attorney is ultimately the mayor's decision, as all city attorneys are appointed by the executive. Rector’s veto occurred after DePietro, Halloran and city attorney Andrew Howard held a closed-door meeting to discuss the matter. The meeting was held at DePietro’s request, Rector said in a statement. “Pursuant to that meeting, we agreed that there was not a current legal issue that necessitated a separate attorney,” Rector said. “As per the City Charter section C9-1, I vetoed the resolution.” The city budget includes funds that would give Common Council the ability to hire an attorney on an as-needed basis, DePietro said. If council overrides the mayor’s veto, Rector would have discretion in hiring the new lawyer, DePietro said. Hudson Common Council meets at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 520 Warren Street, Hudson. WGXC will carry a special web stream of the meeting at wgxc [dot] org [slash] listen. Ed. note: DePietro is an active WGXC programmer. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.