(A) The Municipal Court shall be presided over by a judge to be known as the Judge of the Municipal Court.
(B) The Municipal Judge is to be appointed to this position by the City Council. Upon enactment of the ordinance and the appointment of a Municipal Judge, the initial Municipal Judge shall serve in that capacity concurrently to the unexpired term of the Mayor. At the expiration of the initial term, and every two years thereafter, the City Council shall appoint a Municipal Judge to serve for a term of two years.
(C) The Municipal Judge so appointed is not required to be a licensed attorney; however, the Judge shall be a citizen of the United States and a citizen of the state and resident in good standing of the county or any neighboring county.
(D) The Municipal Judge shall receive a salary to be set by the City Council, which salary may not be diminished during his or her term of office. Furthermore, the Municipal Judge may be removed from office during the term for which he or she was appointed for incompetency, inefficiency, official misconduct, or for good cause. However, the Judge shall not be removed until he or she is given due notice of the grounds for removal and is given an opportunity to present a defense and oppose the grounds of removal in a hearing before the Mayor and City Council.
(E) Any vacancy in the office of the Municipal Judge by death, resignation or otherwise shall be filled by the City Council, which may appoint some qualified person to act in place of the Municipal Judge; and the appointee shall have all of the powers and discharge all the duties of the office and shall receive the same compensation therefore as is payable to the regular Municipal Judge while so acting.
(1981 Code, § 2.22)