Request By:
Mr. Roger Dale Dame
Chief of Fire Department
City of Nortonville
Nortonville, Kentucky 42442
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Walter C. Herdman, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
This is in answer to your letter of November 2 in which you raise the following question:
"I am presently Fire Chief in the fifth class City of Nortonville, Ky. I am running for a seat on the City Council in the upcoming election. I would like your opinion as to whether there's any legal reason that I could not hold those two positions."
The position of fire chief of a city of the fifth class is a minor city office pursuant to the terms of KRS 87.170. The office of city councilman is, of course, a municipal office under the terms of KRS 87.020 and 87.160. Section 165 of the Constitution and KRS 61.080 prohibit a person from holding two municipal offices at the same time. As a consequence, the two positions to which you refer are incompatible and you cannot hold both at the same time.