Request By:
Robert G. Zweigart, City Attorney
Royse, Zweigart & Kirk
Attorneys at Law
Cochran Building
Maysville, Kentucky 41056
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By William S. Riley, Assistant Attorney General
In your recent letter to the Attorney General it is stated that the City of Maysville has outstanding two general obligation floodwall issues and has been levying a tax sufficient to pay the debt figure. The 1976 tax levy has produced approximately $5,000 in excess of the amount required to call all outstanding bonds.
The question is whether this excess amount may be transferred to the city's General Fund; may be used to retire outstanding revenue bonds or must be refunded and the 1977 General Fund tax rate be reduced.
We are enclosing a copy of OAG 74-368 which points out that the tax rate must be reduced since there is no need to levy a tax to retire the bonds. To levy such a rate and divert it to general municipal purposes violates KRS 92.330 and 92.340.
We are also enclosing a copy of OAG 75-584 which points out that there is no authority to refund tax that has been validly collected in a municipality. The excess would go into the general revenue fund.