ATTLEBORO - City Councilor Bill Bowles says he is confident he can handle the double duties of councilor and state representative when he is sworn into the Legislature next month.

Bowles, who was elected in November to replace retiring Rep. John Lepper, said the two jobs will be a lot of work, but he is prepared for it.

To make the load a little lighter and to remove any potential conflict of interest, Bowles said he will give up the chairmanship of the council's budget and appropriations committee to Councilor Brian Kirby.

He will remain on the committee as vice-chairman and will become chairman of Councilor Bill Bergevine's zoning and land use committee. Bergevine, in turn, will take up leadership of the capital improvements committee which Kirby has given up to become budget chairman.

The move is being made, Bowles said, because he was concerned that issues dealt with by the finance committee could spill over into legislative matters. For instance, he said if the finance committee passed a resolution urging the Legislature to approve more aid to cities and towns, it could be construed that he would be biased in handling that request as a state representative.

Bowles said he broached the issue with the attorney for the state ethics commission at a recent workshop.

The attorney said the situation he raised would not be a conflict of interest, but it would be "cleaner" if he were not finance committee chairman, Bowles said.

He also said the finance committee handles the city budget at the same time the Legislature is working on the state budget, so a new committee assignment would result in less time conflicts.

Council President Frank Cook said he was concerned about potential conflicts of interest when Bowles got elected, but was even more worried about the city's budget process because the budget chairman assumes much of the workload.

As a result, he said he consulted with Bowles, Kirby and Bergevine about a realignment.

"I was concerned about our ability to do the job that needs to be done," said Cook, who praised Bowles' performance as budget chairman.

"He has consistently sought to make financial decisions that he justifiably believed were in the best interests of his constituency," Cook said.

The changes are effective immediately and were made in consultation with council Vice President Walter Thibodeau, Cook said.

As for the workload, Bowles said being a state representative is a full-time job, while being a councilor is a part-time position. As a councilor, Bowles said he always worked full time as an engineer, so his new situation will be similar to his old one.

He retired from his engineering job this week.

Bowles said there might be overlap and he might miss some council meetings, but most councilors miss a few during the year because of time conflicts.

JIM HAND covers politics for The Sun Chronicle. He can be reached at 508-236-0399 or at jhand@thesunchronicle.com.