N.Y. Uniform Justice Court Act Law § 106-b

§ 106-b. Election of a single town justice for two or more adjacent\n towns.\n 1. Two or more adjacent towns within the same county, acting by and\nthrough their town boards, are authorized to jointly undertake a study\nrelating to the election of a single town justice who shall preside in\nthe town courts of each such town. Such study shall be commenced upon\nand conducted pursuant to a joint resolution adopted by the town board\nof each such adjacent town. Such joint resolution or a certified copy\nthereof shall upon adoption be filed in the office of the town clerk of\neach adjacent town which adopts the resolution. No study authorized by\nthis subdivision shall be commenced until the joint resolution providing\nfor the study shall have been filed with the town clerks of at least two\nadjacent towns which adopted such joint resolution.\n 2. Within thirty days after the conclusion of a study conducted\npursuant to subdivision one of this section, each town which shall have\nadopted the joint resolution providing for the study shall publish, in\nits official newspaper or, if there be no official newspaper, in a\nnewspaper published in the county and having a general circulation\nwithin such town, notice that the study has been concluded and the time,\ndate and place of the town public hearing on such study. Each town shall\nconduct a public hearing on the study, conducted pursuant to subdivision\none of this section, not less than twenty days nor more than thirty days\nafter publication of the notice of such public hearing.\n 3. The town board of each town party to the study shall conduct a\npublic hearing upon the findings of such study, and shall hear testimony\nand receive evidence and information thereon with regard to the election\nof one town justice to preside over the town courts of the adjacent\ntowns which are parties to the joint resolution providing for the study.\n 4. Within sixty days of the last public hearing upon a study conducted\npursuant to subdivision one of this section, town boards of each town\nwhich participated in such study shall determine whether the town will\nparticipate in a joint plan providing for the election of a single town\njustice to preside in the town courts of two or more adjacent towns.\nEvery such joint plan shall only be approved by a town by the adoption\nof a resolution by the town board providing for the adoption of such\njoint plan. In the event two or more adjacent towns fail to adopt a\njoint plan, all proceedings authorized by this section shall terminate\nand the town courts of such towns shall continue to operate in\naccordance with the existing provisions of law.\n 5. Upon the adoption of a joint plan by two or more adjacent towns,\nthe town boards of the towns adopting such plan shall each adopt a joint\nresolution providing for:\n a. the election of a single town justice at large to preside in the\ntown courts of the participating towns;\n b. the abolition of the existing office of town justice in the\nparticipating towns; and\n c. the election of such single town justice shall occur at the next\ngeneral election of town officers and every fourth year thereafter.\n 6. Upon the adoption of a joint resolution, such resolution shall be\nforwarded to the state legislature, and shall constitute a municipal\nhome rule message pursuant to article nine of the state constitution and\nthe municipal home rule law. No such joint resolution shall take effect\nuntil state legislation enacting the joint resolution shall have become\na law.\n 7. Every town justice elected to preside in multiple towns pursuant to\nthis section shall have jurisdiction in each of the participating\nadjacent towns, shall preside in the town courts of such towns, shall\nmaintain separate records and dockets for each town court, and shall\nmaintain a separate bank account for each town court for the deposit of\nmoneys received by each town court.\n 8. In the event any town court operated pursuant to a joint plan\nenacted into law pursuant to this section is without the services of the\nsingle town justice because of absence or disability, the provisions of\nsection one hundred six of this article and the town law shall apply.\n