Council hears changes to municipal judge contract; motion moved and seconded

Council members reviewed a proposed amendment to the municipal court judge's professional services contract that staff said reflects recommendations from the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) and a cited GR rule. Staff described switching the contract to an hourly invoicing model that would likely amount to roughly 12 hours per month—about $16,000 annually under the draft language—and said the termination-for-cause clause was revised to follow administrative court procedures.

A council member introduced "a motion that we approve the contract for professional services municipal court," and another seconded the motion. Staff and council answered procedural questions about whether the change would alter the budgeted amount and confirmed it would be "close to the same." The draft contract as discussed in the meeting references GR29/GR39 and—per staff—was amended to align with that guidance; the transcript records the duration section as listing dates from Jan. 1, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2021, which appears inconsistent and was not clarified on the record. The motion was moved and seconded during the meeting; the transcript does not record a vote tally or an explicit outcome for this specific motion.