@jessamyn
Uff da, as the Minnesotans say. What a miserable situation.
That seems like a situation where the lawyer is exercising power at the expense of diplomacy: to the extent that she can threaten you or the town with real harm, the threats are effective; to the extent that she needs city gov’s consensus and understanding, she’s self-sabotaging.
Here’s hoping you and the town make it through that process intact.