NORWICH – County leaders on Monday agreed to table a second round of local dollars requisitioned to afford legal expenses in the fight against New York Regional Interconnect, Inc.

A resolution authorizing $50,000 to Communities Against Regional Interconnect (CARI) expressed the county’s “staunch opposition to the transmission line” but contained a caveat: The sum would be approved only “upon similar participation of other counties.”

“As soon as the other counties sign on, we’ll make it available to them. We shouldn’t step out of those bounds,” Chenango County Board of Supervisors Chairman Richard B. Decker said. Of the eight counties represented by the CARI, Decker said two were also on the fence and one had dropped out.

Town of Norwich Supervisor James J. McNeil led the charge to table the resolution. “We are limiting our contribution based on what kind of participation? How many counties will we wait for? Where do we draw the line?” he asked.

Town of Coventry Supervisor Janice O’Shea said she couldn’t “in good conscience” vote for the resolution. “This has the feeling of a bottomless pit. I have not seen any accounting from legal services (retained by CARI) and this is a totally different organization than last year,” she said.