Discuss Municipal Judge Appointment Process

Staff Report & Agenda Item Details

With the unfortunate passing of Judge Bass, Richland Hills is utilizing our two Associate Judges, Judge Wolf and Judge Irby. Both were appointed through the end of December 2027. As of right now, they are helping us with Court each week. One of the questions for Council is whether you would like to solicit qualifications for a Presiding Judge and Associate Judges in order to select a new Presiding Judge. The Cities of NRH and Watauga have asked whether Richland Hills would like to propose a joint solicitation so there would be one process where which ever judge is selected would be the Presiding Judge for all three cities, similar to the relationship with Judge Bass. We all maintain our own Court, contracts, payments, but it allows for a potential benefit and cost savings to include all three cities. Based on Council's input, staff will relay your preferred path to the other cities.