The Tupper Lake Village Board is seen at its March 27 meeting. From left are village Trustees Eric Shaheen and David “Haji” Maroun, village Mayor Mary Fontana and village Trustees Rick Pickering and Leon LeBlanc. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

TUPPER LAKE — The Tupper Lake Village Board voted at its Monday meeting to abolish the village justice court, effective Jan. 1, 2027.

The board passed Local Law #01-2025 on a motion made by Trustee Eric Shaheen and seconded by Trustee Leon LeBlanc. The vote was 4-0, with all board members present voting in the affirmative. Trustee David “Haji” Maroun was absent from the meeting.

The local law’s passage followed a public hearing earlier in the evening. At the hearing, Tupper Lake Free Press Editor and Publisher M. Dan McClelland lauded the board’s intent to do away with the village court, folding its responsibilities over to the town court.

“I think it’s a prudent move,” he said. “I think you could save some money. I think having one court under one house is a good thing. I applaud you for it.”

Tupper Lake Code Enforcement Officer Pete Edwards asked when the village court’s term expires, to which village Mayor Mary Fontana stated Dec. 31, 2026 — and that under state law, the village court cannot be abolished until that point, resulting in the Jan. 1, 2027, effective date in the local law passed on Monday.

McClelland then asked, while acknowledging that it wasn’t the village board’s purview, if the town had plans to add a second justice to its court, given the increased workload it would presumably take on with the abolition of the village court.

“They’re going to have to,” responded Shaheen. “They need a backup judge.”

Currently — even with the two courts — it’s a one-man show. Justice Leonard Young III serves as both the town justice and the village justice, the latter of which he was appointed to several months ago when then-Justice Chris Delair resigned midway through that term, which expires on Dec. 31, 2026.

Young was nominated by the Republican and Conservative parties at their caucuses for the village justice position, which will be on the ballot in November in the special election to fill the remainder of that term. Young is running unopposed. Even though he resides outside of the village limits, the village board passed a resolution at its June meeting — after getting approval to do so from the state board of elections — that allows Young to serve as the village justice despite his residency.

Fontana explained then that the waiver was granted by the state due to the village’s population being less than 3,000. Young, after being appointed, resigned for a time after the residency requirement became known, before agreeing to rescind it, provided that the village board passed that resolution to make his appointment within the parameters of the law.

Currently, Young is taking all of the arraignments between the two courts. He holds village court on Monday evenings and town court on Wednesday evenings — something village board members appeared to agree was a hefty workload.

“We could use a second justice,” Fontana said.

There were no other comments made at the public hearing. The local law, which was first introduced at the village board’s regular June meeting, was carried without any further discussion by board members at Monday’s meeting.