Lebanon: From Town Hall
(Town of Lebanon, NY – March 2013) Lebanon Town Justice John Bartlett submitted his written letter of resignation to Town Supervisor Jim Goldstein and the Office of Court Administration and Commission on Judicial Conduct effective March 1.
Bartlett, wrote in his resignation letter, “I took this job to try and make sure that people were receiving fair outcomes. It has been a challenge to balance that with all the paperwork. I also have a lot of responsibility in my own personal life. Running a business, raising four children, running a household and being a judge is too much for me to do at this time of my life. I wish I could have done a better job with this important responsibility. Due to personal reasons this has not been achieved. I feel that another person needs to take this position.”
Bartlett was the subject of investigations by the state Office of Court Administration, the Office of the State Comptroller and the state Commission on Judicial Conduct. He said he was resigning as part of a stipulation agreement with the Commission on Judicial Conduct. The CJC will make the stipulation public upon being signed by Bartlett.
Bartlett said that the stipulation will show that “there are no funds missing” and that the “only offense that has been committed has been a failure to communicate and failure to file monthly reports in a timely fashion. This report is open to the public.”
Town board members held a special emergency meeting Saturday, March 2, at the town office to recommend the appointment of Georgetown Justice Ron Hailston as visiting justice for the township until a replacement can be found and trained, either by appointment or election.
“Hailston served with distinction as a visiting justice two prior times in Lebanon due to justice resignations,” wrote Goldstein and town board members in a letter to the Office of Court Administration Special Counsel Elizabeth Burns.
Town officials learned Friday that state law was amended in 2007 to prohibit towns from appointing their own visiting justices and instead the authority now lies with the Office of Court Administration, which is expected to have Justice Mulvey, the administrative judge, appoint Hailston very soon.
Town officials were asked to advertise the position and attempt to fill the vacancy with an appointment since training for new Justices will be held in Albany at Judge School April 8 through 13. The next school is not until December.
Town board members were unanimous in favoring the appointment of Hailston to fill out the remainder of 2013 and resolve the pending issues and get Lebanon Town Court operating again so that a new justice can be elected in the fall and take office Jan. 1, 2014, after receiving training.
Bartlett wrote in his letter that he would cooperate with the new visiting justice. He wrote in his resignation letter to Goldstein “my failure to communicate has also been very apparent to the Town Board and yourself. I apologize with deepest sympathy for this. My supervising judge will help find a replacement to move the town forward. There is not another court date until March 14, 2013.”
Town officials are being asked to solicit potential candidates who would be interested in being appointed town justice in time for the April Albany training session. The town still has to complete an internal audit of all town justice finances and the OSC wants to complete an audit of the justice records. Any lawyer residing in Lebanon could take the appointment from the town board without having to attend the Justice school.
State officials were urging this option so that they would not have to pay Hailston for long. Town officials emphasized the town is ready to pay Hailston’s salary, but it was the changes in the state law that now require the state to pay for a visiting justice. Town officials would pay Hailston $300 per month, equivalent to the current $3,600 salary.
Interested candidates should contact Goldstein at 315.837.4152 or Lebanon@citlink.net. Qualified candidates must be town residents, be eligible to serve and would be required to attend a week of training in Albany prior to being certified to sit on the bench. The appointment would only last until the end of this year, as the county Board of Elections would hold a special election for the justice position. The successful candidate would serve a four-year term, according to the Board of Elections.
Bartlett’s term is due to expire Dec. 31, 2014; he took office in January 2011.
Town officials cited problems with monthly reports and turning over fines and fees to town officials, as well as a growing number of complaints from residents with regard to Bartlett’s communication and attendance in town court as the reason they directed the town attorney Steven Jones to contact the OCA and initiate an investigation.
Bartlett left four signed checks and reports with his resignation letter for Goldstein. The amounts totaled $1,947.50 for February 2013, $547.50 for January 2013, $15 for December 2012 and $155 for October 2012.
Prior to this, Justice Bartlett had not turned money over to the supervisor since May 2012.