Town Board set to appoint justice court director Tuesday
The Southold Town Board is poised to fill its vacant justice court director position Tuesday with the appointment of the current director of the Westhampton Beach Justice Court.
Leanne Reilly has spent more than a decade working in the Westhampton court and has also served as the justice court director in the villages of West Hampton Dunes and Mastic Beach.
The Manorville resident, who was interviewed for the Southold job in October, declined comment until after the resolution is voted on. She said only that she does plan to leave her job in Westhampton if appointed in Southold.
“She comes highly recommended by the mayor [of Westhampton Beach],” said Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell. “She was interviewed by the [Southold Town] Board and Justice [Bill] Price and was found to be an excellent, take-charge individual with a background in justice court operations.”
Councilman Jim Dinizio said he believes Ms. Reilly will do a “good job.”
The town created the new justice court director position in April following the resignation of senior court clerk Christine Stulsky, who was arraigned on grand larceny charges in March after she allegedly stole “a substantial amount of money” from the court. Ms. Stulsky’s duties have since been taken over by other employees of the justice court, town officials have said
A job description obtained in April shows the justice court director would be responsible for collecting, depositing and recording all justice court fines, fees and bail payments. The person would also supervise the maintenance of court records, prepare monthly reports to the state comptroller and assist the town justices in helping the town supervisor prepare his proposed annual budget.
In July, the Town Board unanimously passed a resolution to increase the starting salary for the unfilled justice court director position from $63,000 to $80,000. Mr. Russell said then that he hoped the higher wage would generate more interest among more qualified candidates. He said at the time that only two people applied for the position and both lacked the necessary experience.
Tuesday’s Town Board meeting is set for 7:30 p.m. A discussion of the new position is also on the agenda for the 9 a.m. work session.
