Troy Salchow moves on from city attorney to judge

The Webb City Council meeting on Monday will be the last that Troy Salchow attends as city attorney because at noon on Monday he will be sworn in as a circuit court judge with the 29th Judicial Circuit in Jasper County.

Salchow applied to fill the circuit’s Division 1 vacancy that occurred when Joe Hensley was appointed on June 17 by Gov. Mike Kehoe to the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District.

Kehoe’s office announced his appointment of Salchow to succeed Hensley on Oct. 1.

Both Salchow and Hensley are Webb City High School and University of Missouri graduates.

Salchow has no choice but to resign as city attorney.  In fact, by becoming a judge, he is not allowed to do any outside attorney work. He said he’s busy now wrapping up cases or calling clients to refer them to other attorneys.

The Salchow Law Firm, at 31 S. Main St., is closing after 21 years. That means his mother, Verna Salchow, can finally retire again. She came out of retirement 21 years ago to be his receptionist.

Salchow has been the city attorney for 22 years. Mayor Lynn Ragsdale thanked him for his service, and although he said he hates to see him go, he’s confident “he will still serve us well” in his new role.

Salchow said he has enjoyed being the city attorney and was fortunate to have worked under only two mayors, John Biggs, who appointed him, and Ragsdale.

Although he has prosecuted and defended cases in circuit court, Salchow says he anticipates a short learning curve once he’s in a robe sitting behind the bench. He is scheduled to attend judge school for a week in January.

Salchow will complete the remaining four years of Hensley’s term before deciding to run for election.