Consolidation of town and village courts

MILLBROOK — A joint meeting of the town and village is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 9, to continue discussions about sharing services. The village will provide information to the Town Board about consolidating town and village justice courts.

Last year for the first time the village court broke even financially with revenues matching expenses of $28,000. The improvement was largely the result of negotiation with the county district attorney to permit Millbrook police officers to act as special prosecutors and negotiate traffic tickets to the village’s benefit.

“The driving factor behind moving the village court to the town court is not financial,� said Mayor Laura Hurley. She said the motivation is actually physical.

Located on the second floor, the court is not easily accessible. In addition, the evening youth recreation programs on the ground floor can mix felons in handcuffs with children. Vacating the space would also open up additional space for use as offices and storage.

The town court is currently operating at a loss of $25,000 a year and the move would require additional justice personnel. Hurley pointed out that many services like assessment, animal control, elections, park and pool, fire and rescue are already shared.

Incumbents all running in Millbrook election

Three incumbents on the Village Board are running for re-election as the Tidal Party, although, because of former Mayor Andrew Ciferri’s resignation in March, only one of them was previously elected to their current position.

Current Mayor Hurley, who was elected as a trustee, was selected by the Village Board to become mayor in April 2010. Trustee Joe Spagnola was selected by the Village Board during the summer to fill the trustee slot vacated when Hurley became mayor. Trustee Buddy Cox was elected last November in a special election to fill the spot of Judy Bondis after she resigned from the Village Board. All three candidates filed independent, nonparty affiliated nominating petitions as the Tidal ticket before Tuesday, Aug. 17, signed by 50 residents.

“I’ve said all along that national politics plays no role in local politics,� said Hurley.

Republican and Democratic parties have until Saturday, Sept. 11, to post notices if they intend to hold party caucuses. Any party-affiliated nominations must be filed by Tuesday, Sept. 21. Now that the village’s elections occur in November, the process is run by the county Board of Elections, which lessens the cost and eliminates partisanship in managing elections.

Town budget deliberations to begin

Monday evening, Sept. 20, deliberations on next year’s town budget will begin, with the board hearing recommendations from various town department heads.

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