On Monday night, The Newton City Council voted to terminate the contract of long-time city attorney Darrin Hamilton. It was not a surprise to him, but he was not happy to hear the news.

“I had been aware that this had been in process for a long time,” Hamilton said. “I am not surprised by the decision. They’ve been looking at this issue since April of 2012. When it got to where it was on the agenda — the odds were very high that it would be approved.”

“At the end of the day, the resolution did say that they were happy with my services and it is not a reflection on me,” Hamilton said. “It wasn’t as if they were saying, ‘We’re not happy with what you’re doing or how you’re doing it.’ It’s a belief that they will save money.”