Council expands magistrate slate, raises magistrate pay to $200 an hour

At the June 24 meeting the Wellington Village Council authorized staff to add attorneys from the firm Neighbors Giblin & Nickerson (Vicente and Weisman, with a listed alternate) to the village's special magistrate rotation and approved an increase in the magistrate hourly rate from $165 to $200.

Staff said the village issued a solicitation for special magistrate services and received four responses, including the incumbent and a multi-attorney firm. Council members discussed the benefit of having a smaller roster of magistrates who are familiar with Wellington's code and operations but also noted the potential for increased hearings tied to the upcoming speed-detection enforcement program; staff said the number of contested cases could grow and advised flexibility in scheduling.

Council voted unanimously to appoint Neighbors Giblin & Nickerson attorneys (two named attorneys and an alternate as offered by the firm) to the magistrate roster and to adopt the higher compensation rate for magistrate services. Staff said the $200 hourly rate would apply to new appointees and to magistrate compensation going forward. The appointments and the compensation change were presented in two companion resolutions and approved without objection.

Councilmembers said they value both continuity and capacity for hearings and thanked the existing magistrate for long service while noting it was an appropriate time to expand the roster.

Staff directed follow-up administrative steps for onboarding the newly appointed magistrates and for scheduling calendar availability for hearings.