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A Missouri Attorney General’s communication states that the City of Florissant did not have the power to reduce the salary of the municipal judge mid-term, after the office was vacated following the death of long-time City Judge Tim Kelly. He had won reelection in April of 2011, but died a few weeks after that.

Mayor Schneider thought that the salary in the charter goes with the term of office, even if the office-holder left the office during that time. After Kelly’s death, a special election was held to fill the remainder of the term. The council contended that the salary should be on the specific person’s term in office which was April , 2011 , and since the office was vacant at the time, they could change the salary.

Mayor Tom Schneider had contended that he didn’t think the council could change the judge’s salary. The mayor tried to veto a city council approved resolution to reduce the salary by $5,000, but it was overridden  by the council. Florissant City Attorney John Hessel, at the request of Councilman Tim Lee, wrote an opinion that he believes the city council had the authority to change the compensation for the new judge who would be elected in November 2012. In a memorandum to Hessel,  Schneider, suggested the city  seek an opinion from the state attorney general.

Mayor Schneider then communicated with State Sen. Tim Green, asking him to seek an opinion from the state attorney general. The mayor passed out copies of the five-page letter sent to Senator Green from the state attorney general’s office during a special council work session last Wednesday.

In a letter to Senator Green, Assistant Attorney General Linda Lemke stated that while they could not find any past case that specifically addressed the issue, there were several cases that were “instructive” in this instance. She cited two Missouri cases that she felt supported the mayor’s viewpoint.

“In conclusion,” Lemke wrote, “we view the prohibition against changing a judge’s salary mid-term in… the charter as applying to the term of office, not personally to the office holder.” She continued, “we believe that the City of Florissant did not have the power to reduce the salary of the municipal judge mid-term, after the office had been vacated, and before the new judge had taken over the remainder of the term.”

Last November, Dan Boyle was elected municipal judge, edging Kevin Kelley, the late Tim Kelly’s brother, in a special election.

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