Back in October, the Maybrook Village Board unanimously adopted a local law that permits a village justice to live in Maybrook or in either of the towns of Montgomery or Hamptonburgh. Previously, a village justice was required to live in Maybrook while an associate or acting judge could reside anywhere in Orange County.

That law became crucial Monday as current Maybrook justice Joseph Byrne resigned, effective the same day, Monday, that he submitted his resignation letter. Maybrook only has one justice. Tina Fassnacht is Maybrook’s associate judge and will fill in for Byrne until the village appoints his replacement.

At Monday’s village board meeting, members unanimously accepted Byrne’s resignation. In asking for a motion to approve Byrne’s resignation, Mayor Dennis Leahy noted his hard work to learn his Maybrook judgeship job. Byrne had previously served on the Valley Central school board, BOCES board and Maybrook zoning board of appeals (ZBA).

Leahy said a decision on who will replace Byrne will be made at the board’s next meeting on January 22. Byrne was elected last March to a two-year term, when he ran a write-in campaign. There were no formal candidates and Byrne won with less than ten votes. Whoever replaces him will serve for only one year, unless elected during the 2025 village election to a regular two-year term.

Byrne left so abruptly, he said in an on-line interview, because he is “working a primary election in North Carolina and I’m needed to be in person for the next three months and it could lead into the general election which would require me being here till November at the very least.”

Byrne said he considered trying to commute for scheduled court nights here in Maybrook or taking a leave of absence.

“But the residents and our wonderful court clerks deserve to have a judge who is going to be there,” he said. “It wouldn’t be fair to the taxpayers for me to work less than the allotted time that is needed. I really do not want to resign because I love the job and the people so much, but it is only fair.”