The Hermiston City Council initiated a new selection process for municipal court judges pro tem at Monday night’s council meeting.
In the past, the municipal court judge has appointed his own pro tem judges to serve in his or her absence or when the judge recuses him or herself due to a potential conflict of interest with specific defendants.
In May, Hermiston voters approved a new city charter that includes a provision for the city to appoint and remove municipal court judges pro tem.
Hermiston City Manager Byron Smith said Municipal Court Judge Thomas Creasing has had to recuse himself from a few cases due to a conflict of interest. Smith said both he and Creasing agree that having the council appoint pro tem judges would create more transparency in the process and prevent any allegations of favoritism in the appointment of pro tem judges by the sitting municipal court judge.
Pro tem judges need not be actual judges, but must, according to state law, be licensed to practice law in the state of Oregon.
Smith said the city will advertise the position with the hopes of selecting several to serve when needed. The city will pay the pro tem judges $200 an hour. Smith estimates pro tem judges would likely be needed only about 1.5 hours per month with an annual cost of about $3,600 a year. The council expects to appoint the pro tem judges at its Nov. 23 meeting.
Also at Monday’s meeting, the council authorized Mayor Dave Drotzmann to sign an intergovernmental agreement with the Oregon Department of Transportation for a major paving project on Highway 395 from N.E. Fourth Street all the way to Highway 730. The state will pick up nearly all of the $6.4 million cost of the project. The city, however, will have to pay for any relocation or adjustment of sewer and utilities along the highway. This will involve what Smith called “minor adjustments” to 15 manhole covers and 63 water valve boxes at a cost of $23,850 to the city.
The project is expected to take place in the second half of 2016.
The council also decided to hold work sessions prior to each council meeting, instead of just one prior to the second meeting of each month. The change is being made in order to allow the council additional time to work through existing projects. The work sessions will be held at 6 p.m. on the second and fourth Monday of each month.
