Mt. CB hopes to find municipal judge with November ballot question

Removing county residency requirement 

By Kendra Walker

The Mt. Crested Butte town council is searching for a new municipal judge, and is asking voters to consider a November ballot question that will help them find more qualified applicants. 

During their August 5 meeting, the Mt. Crested Butte town council approved ballot language for a charter amendment that will remove the town’s current requirement that its municipal judge resides in Gunnison County. 

Judge Ben Eden has served as the town’s municipal judge for 20 years, and earlier this year, he notified the town of his intention to retire. The town began its search for his replacement; however, town clerk Tiffany O’Connell informed the council that staff has struggled to find any interested qualified applicants. The town charter mandates that the municipal judge must reside within Gunnison County. The town also expanded its search to a deputy municipal judge, in which the residency requirement does not apply, so that judge Eden would remain as the municipal judge but could step back from court sessions if a deputy was appointed.

However, “We still haven’t received a single applicant for this job,” explained O’Connell.

The council agreed to pursue a charter amendment on the November 2025 ballot to remove the residency requirement for the Municipal Judge in order to broaden the applicant pool. 

Recently, Judge Eden agreed to sign a two-year contract with the town to provide municipal judge services at a new compensation rate of $750 per court session. The hope is that if voters approve the residency requirement change in November, the town will still be able to replace him sooner than later and support Mt. CB’s long-term municipal court needs. 

“He had no idea it would be this hard to find a new judge,” said O’Connell. “The hope is that this passes and when the time comes, we can attract someone qualified outside our county.”