§ 106-A — Reducing number of justices in adjacent towns

§ 106-a. Reducing number of justices in adjacent towns.\n 1. The town boards of two or more towns that form a contiguous\ngeographic area within the same county are hereby authorized to\nestablish a single town court to be comprised of town justices to be\nelected from each of such towns in the same manner and for the same\nterms as town justices are so elected except that the number of such\nterms expiring in any one year may not exceed by more than one the\nnumber of terms expiring in any other year in which terms expire;\nprovided, however, the town boards of the towns of Erin and Chemung in\nChemung county are hereby authorized to establish a single town court in\naccordance with the provisions of this section. The procedure to\nestablish such single court may be initiated by the town board or may be\ninitiated by petition. In the event the procedure is initiated by\npetition, the petition shall be addressed to each town board and shall\nbe signed by at least twenty percent of the registered voters in such\ntowns.\n 2. The petition shall be made upon white paper containing the\nsignatures of qualified electors of each town. The sheets of such a\npetition shall be numbered consecutively, beginning with number one, at\nthe foot of each sheet. Such petition must set forth in every instance\nthe correct date of signing, the full name of the signer and his or her\npresent residence. A signer need not himself or herself fill in the date\nor residence.\n Each sheet of such petition shall be signed in ink and shall be\nsubstantially in the following form:\n To the Town Boards of the Towns of ................. and .............\nCounty of ................ State of New York.\n We, the undersigned, duly qualified electors of the towns of\n............... and ................. respectfully petition each town\nboard to reduce the number of justices in each town to one justice and\nprovide for the extension of the geographic jurisdiction of such\njustices to include the area of such towns and also to provide for an\norderly transition subject to the approval of the electors of each town\nas authorized by law.\n Date Signature Residence\n.........................................................................\n.........................................................................\n.........................................................................\n.........................................................................\n Statement of Witness:\n I.............state: I am over the age of eighteen years and now\nreside at...................(residence, address, or post office address\nif not identical) in the Town of.................in the State of New\nYork, County of................Each of the electors whose names are\nsubscribed to this petition sheet containing..................(fill in\nnumber) signatures, subscribed his or her name in my presence.\n I understand that this statement will be accepted for all purposes as\nthe equivalent of an affidavit and, if it contains a material false\nstatement, shall subject me to the same penalties as if I had been duly\nsworn.\n.........................................................................\n Date Signature of Witness\n 3. Such petition shall be filed in the office of the town clerk of one\nof such towns and a certified copy shall be filed in the office of the\ntown clerk of the other town or towns.\n 4. Any town board may adopt a resolution calling for the reduction of\nthe number of justices in the town and in one or more towns that form a\ncontiguous geographic area. The filing of such original resolution shall\nhave the same effect as the filing of a petition as authorized by this\nsection and the clerk in whose office such resolution was filed shall\nproceed in the same manner as if such resolution was a duly filed\npetition. A certified copy of such resolution shall be filed in the\noffice of the town clerk of the other town or towns.\n 5. Within thirty days after such petition or resolution and the\ncertified copies thereof are filed the town clerk of the town in which\nthe original petition or resolution was filed shall cause a notice to be\npublished once in the official newspaper of each town, or, if there be\nno official newspaper, in a newspaper published in the county and having\ngeneral circulation within the area of each town. Such notice shall\nstate that the petition or resolution has been received and that at a\nspecified time not less than twenty days nor more than forty days after\nthe publication of such notice, which place and dates shall be specified\ntherein, a joint hearing will be held upon such petition or resolution\nby such town boards.\n 6. The town boards of such towns shall meet at the time and place\nspecified in such notice. The members of the participating boards shall\nagree on the selection of one of their members to preside at such\nmeeting and in the event no such agreement is reached, he or she shall\nbe chosen by lot. Such town boards shall hear testimony and receive\nevidence and information which may be presented concerning the petition\nor resolution to establish a single town court.\n 7. Within sixty days after the hearing held pursuant to subdivision\nsix of this section the town boards of such adjacent towns shall\ndetermine whether or not such petition or resolution shall be approved.\nIn the event one town board disapproves or rejects such petition or\nresolution, all proceedings under this section shall terminate and the\nexisting court system in such adjacent towns shall continue to the same\nextent as if no such petition or resolution had been filed.\n 8. In the event that each respective town board approves such\nresolution or petition, such boards shall prepare a joint resolution\nwhich shall provide that the office of one justice in each town shall be\nabolished and that the remaining justice in each town shall have\njurisdiction in each town to the same extent as if each such justice was\nelected in each town. Such joint resolution shall provide for the\nelection of at least one town justice every two years but in no case\nshall the number of terms expiring in any one year exceed by more than\none the number of terms expiring in any other year in which terms\nexpire, and shall identify each justice whose office shall be abolished,\nand shall identify each justice whose office shall be continued.\n 9. In the event no agreement can be reached as to which offices shall\nbe abolished, the offices to be abolished by such resolution shall be\nchosen from each of the offices of town justice by lot. However in no\ncase shall an office be chosen by lot to be abolished that would cause\nthe remaining offices to violate the requirements of subdivision eight\nof this section.\n 10. Such joint resolution shall be submitted to the electors of each\ntown at the next general election occurring more than sixty days after\nthe final determination of the language of such resolution.\n 11. If such resolution is approved by a majority of the qualified\npersons voting thereon in each town such resolution shall be deemed to\nbe adopted and the plan to establish a single town court shall be\nimplemented in the manner provided in such resolution. If such\nresolution is disapproved by a majority of the qualified persons voting\nthereon in one or more towns, such resolution shall be defeated and no\nfurther action shall be taken to implement such plan.\n 12. Any town justice continuing in office pursuant to such plan and\nany town justice hereafter elected pursuant to the plan established in\nsuch resolution shall have jurisdiction in each town in the contiguous\ngeographic area to the same extent and effect as if such town justice\nwere elected in each such town.\n 13. Each town justice exercising jurisdiction in accordance with this\nsection shall keep a separate set of records and dockets for each town\nin which he or she exercises jurisdiction and such justice shall also\nmaintain a separate bank account for each town for the deposit of moneys\nreceived when exercising jurisdiction in each town.\n