The West Tisbury selectmen say they will need to call a special town meeting to secure additional funds for the roundabout lawsuit after preliminary attorney fees have quickly drained the town’s legal funds budget.

Town administrator Jennifer Rand said at the selectmen’s weekly meeting on Wednesday the town would not have enough funds in the annual budget’s legal fees line item to fund the lawsuit, and additional monies were severely needed. “There’s no possible way we have money for this,” Ms. Rand said. “We’re going to be in dire straits very quickly.”

Edgartown and West Tisbury filed a joint appeal in December to block the Martha’s Vineayard Commission’s approval of the roundabout project in Oak Bluffs. Attorney Richard W. Renehan, who is representing both Edgartown and West Tisbury in the lawsuit, has already billed the towns for $30,000 in services through Dec. 20.

The bills are beginning to accumulate because of the growing number of interrogatories, legal questions associated with the case, Ms. Rand said,

Ms. Rand said selectman and chairman of the board Jeffrey (Skip) Manter, who is currently away, told her he urged the board to stop the lawsuit until money was available to continue funding it.

“If he were here he’d say in light of the fact that the bill is quickly going beyond [our means], and we have to stop until we have a special town meeting to have funds,” she said.

Selectman Richard Knabel said he was wary of scheduling a special meeting before a firm dollar amount was presented to the board by Mr. Renehan.

“We still need to get an idea of where we’re going with this, and that is supposed to be about now,” he said. “If we have to go to a town meeting, let’s schedule it, but we need to write a warrant for it and I don’t quite know where to start with it.”

Selectman Cynthia Mitchell agreed.

“I think we need some more information,” she said. “The special town meeting doesn’t have to happen in the shortest time frame as long as we know we need to do it, do it in a timely way.”

Ms. Rand said Mr. Manter’s concern was spending money without voters’ approval, and he questioned whether “voters want to commit to this level of expense,” she said.

There would need to be two warrant articles – one to replenish the legal fund that is quickly becoming depleted and the other to fund the roundabout lawsuit, Ms. Rand said. Funds would have to come from either excess overlay money or the stabilization fund, accounts established to offset underprojected expenses.

There is between $80,000 and $100,000 available through those two accounts, Ms. Rand said.

Ms. Rand said in addition to the $15,000 in roundabout fees, she is also expecting legal fees from ongoing town lawsuits and costs associated with the annual town meeting.

Ms. Mitchell asked if the budget would still be in peril if the town were not to incur any more fees related to the roundabout lawsuit. Ms. Rand said it would be a close call.

“I really don’t think so,” she said. “I’d be sweating.”

The selectmen voted to hold a conference call with Mr. Renehan on Monday in executive session to discuss the matter.