MC Courthouse to get $39,000 revamp for new official’s office

The Middlesex County Board of Supervisors (MCBS) approved a $39,000 bid from Haley Builders Inc. of Ashland to renovate the basement of the new county courthouse to accommodate a new Middlesex County assistant commonwealth attorney’s office.

Supervisors voted unanimously to accept the bid at their July 9 regular monthly meeting.
The Middlesex County commonwealth’s attorney, Mike Hurd, has been lobbying for years for the county to hire an assistant commonwealth attorney, due to seasonal increases in workloads in his office.

The state compensation board determines state funding for an assistant commonwealth attorney based on 10,000 population figures. Although the Middlesex County year-around population has from time to time dipped below the 10,000 population requirement, Hurd and other county officials have argued that the county’s overall population “more than triples” in the summer months when campgrounds and cottages are full of people. This creates an increased workload for the Middlesex County sheriff’s and commonwealth attorney’s offices.

Funding for an assistant commonwealth attorney was approved in this year’s state fiscal budget. Assistant County Administrator AnnMarie Ricardi said that the county is currently advertising to hire a first time-ever Middlesex County assistant commonwealth’s attorney.