(A) A Municipal Court shall be and hereby is created and established as a “qualified municipal court of record” pursuant to the provisions of state statutes. In all operations of the Municipal Court, a verbatim record of the proceedings and evidence at trial shall be kept by either electronic devices or stenographic means. The Municipal Court is created to hear and try all alleged violations of the town code and ordinance provisions.
(B) The Municipal Court shall be presided over by a Municipal Judge, who shall be appointed by the town’s Board of Trustees for a specified term of not less than two years at the first regular meeting following an election or at such time a vacancy may exist and who may be reappointed for a subsequent term; except that, the initial appointment under this section may be for a term of office which expires on the date of the next election of the Board of Trustees. Any vacancy in the office of Municipal Judge shall be filled by appointment of the Board of Trustees for the remainder of the unexpired term. The Municipal Judge shall be duly qualified and admitted to, and currently licensed in, the practice of law in the state.
(C) A Municipal Judge may be removed during his or her term of office only for cause. A Judge may be removed for cause if:
(1) He or she is found guilty of a felony or any other crime involving moral turpitude;
(2) He or she has a disability which interferes with the performance of his or her duties and which is or is likely to become of a permanent character;
(3) He or she has willfully or persistently failed to perform his or her duties;
(4) He or she is habitually intemperate; and
(5) The town required the judge to live within the town boundaries prior to appointment and the Judge has since moved beyond those town boundaries.
(Prior Code, § 141.1) (Ord. 375, passed 3-3-1994; Ord. 577, passed 11-6-2014)