The Village of Osceola has set a timeline for creating a new municipal court and appointing a new judge.

Last week, the Osceola Village Board approved a timeline for installing a new judge and creating a municipal court, before the existing court dissolves on April 30.

“This is an aggressive timeline,” Village Administrator Neil Soltis said. “But there are a lot of processes that have to go on before we can actually hold court.”

The Village is currently developing a new court ordinance and has asked for interested parties to apply to be judge.

Those interested in being appointed judge are asked to submit a letter of interest to the Village office by Feb. 12. The board will interview potential judge candidates between Feb. 15-22 and could potentially appoint a new judge and approve a new court ordinance at its Feb. 23 meeting.

Soltis said that, for now, the Village will be the sole operator of the court.

“If and when,” Village President Kathy Demulling said.

The Village’s current joint municipal court will be dissolved effective April 30, after the Village and the other municipalities failed to reach an agreement on the court’s operating budget.

Soltis said the Village should be more guarded if it adds any municipalities to the court.

“We don’t want to give up our management rights” in any future partnerships, Soltis said.

During the board’s Jan. 26 meeting, the board briefly weighed what qualifications a municipal judge should have, but decided that a high school education, no criminal history and Village residency were sufficient requirements, as in past practice.