SMITHVILLE FLATS – Smithville’s town leaders intend to cut one of the town’s two justice positions prior to the November election.
According to Town Supervisor Allan I. Johnson, he and the town board have been considering eliminating one of the two justice positions for some time, but the matter was brought to the forefront when Judges Bill Lenga and Bruce Braman both resigned in December.
Lenga, who served on the local bench for 15 years, tendered his resignation in October. Dec. 15 was his last day. Braman was elected to the position in November of 2009 and served one year, from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31.
According to Lenga, he and Braman each decided separately to step down from their elected positions. In his case, he said, the decision was based on the increasing demands of the role, for which he received a $3,000 stipend each year.
Typically, another town resident would be appointed to fill each of the positions until the next election, but according to Johnson, that hasn’t been possible.
“We have been unable to locate anyone in the Town of Smithville willing to take an appointment right now,” he explained.
Faced with a vacant bench, the town turned to Judge Howie Sullivan, who serves as the supervising judge for town and village courts within the Sixth Judicial District. Based on Sullivan’s recommendation, Johnson said they appointed Preston Judge Thomas Hosford to serve as Smithville’s acting town justice as of Jan. 1.
“He was a lot of experience and comes highly recommended,” the supervisor said.
In the meantime, he said, the town will move forward with adopting a resolution to eliminate one of the two elected positions by permissive referendum. This means the action will not require voter approval. If, however, town residents choose to contest the decision and submitted a petition which met statutory requirements, they could request the matter be brought to public vote.
“If things go as I hope, there wouldn’t be a need for a (voter) referendum,” the supervisor said. “It would be my hope the town board would act in eliminating one of the positions, and there wouldn’t be a challenge to that.”
The supervisor said he would like to see the issue decided before the November election, but the timeline will be determined by the town board.
“We’ll move as quickly as they want to move,” he said.
The action is not without precedent. Fourteen of Chenango’s 21 townships currently operate with one justice. Afton, Bainbridge, Greene, Guilford, North Norwich, Sherburne and, at least for the time being, Smithville are the exceptions.
Lenga said he is in favor of the decision, with one caveat.
“If they do go down to one judge, they have to have a court clerk,” he said. “One person can’t do it on their own.”