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Merged courts inching closer
(Press-Republican (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jul. 19--MALONE -- The logistics for merging municipal courts in Malone are entering the final phase, with the last date of Village Court set for Aug. 28.
No cases are expected to be heard for a few weeks afterwards while furniture, computers and files are moved from Elm Street to the Malone Dufort Airport.
However, arraignments will still be conducted, and fines and fees will be collected by the two court clerks on staff.
Trials or other court appearances will be put off until the majority of the transfer is complete, Judge Michael Lamitie told the Village Board at a meeting earlier this week.
He serves both the village and town.
Lamitie, along with Village Justice Andrew Simays and Town Judge John Marsden, will likely be hearing cases in their new headquarters the second week of September.
Simays's term expires this fall and will not be filled.
Lamitie's term with the village does not end until the fall of 2010, so the Village Board must leave the court intact until that department can be dissolved.
Lamitie was elected town justice in November, filling the seat vacated by the death of Judge Thomas Wilson.
Eliminating Simays' position and eventually dissolving Lamitie's was subject to permissive referendum, which was proposed on April 14 and went unchallenged.
The merger is part of a shared-service initiative that each government hopes will save money.
The town and village are also studying the possibility of moving the town's Code Enforcement Office out of the airport and into the village's code office at 14 Elm St.
The idea is been taken even further with informal talks that could have the combined town and village offices moved to Flanders Elementary School.
Flanders may soon be vacated and sold if the Malone Central School District persuades the public to build a new pre-K-to-fifth-grade elementary school at the corner of Brainardsville Road and U.S. Route 11.
Reconstruction and reconfiguration of Town Court space to make room for added staff and case-load materials has taken several months, but most of it has been done by town Highway Department employees.
At the recent session, Lamitie asked the village for help moving the office contents and set a joint meeting for July 25 for all entities to work out the details of how many workers, trucks and hours the move might be expected to take.
He also planned to ask the town for manpower and trucks.
Town Supervisor Howard Maneely suggested some non-essential items could be moved well in advance of the full-scale operation, and Lamitie agreed that is wise.
In addition to hamming out the appearance schedules for each judge, another detail by Lamitie was ensuring that State Police and Malone Village Police officers know that they should not write tickets that send accused offenders to Village Court after Aug. 28.
Village Attorney Nathan Race suggested members of the Franklin County Bar Association also be notified, so they don't show up at Village Court for their cases.
draymo@pressrepublican.com
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