Request By:
Mr. Troy Thomas, Jr.
Blackey,
Kentucky 41804
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Walter C. Herdman, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
This is in answer to your letter of August 28 in which you relate that the city of Blacky was incorporated but ceased to function for many years but was never dissolved. It has not been reestablished and you would like to know how to re-incorporate under the name of "Blackey" instead of "Blacky."
Once a municipality is incorporated it remains so unless its charter is forfeited in a legal proceeding in circuit court. In this respect we refer you to the case of Hill v. Anderson, 122 Ky. 87, 90 S.W. 1071 (1906). The court stated and we quote:
"A municipal corporation is not dissolved by failure to elect officers or to exercise the corporate powers."
Thus, assuming the city of Blacky has not been dissolved, it still exists and we believe that all that is necessary in order to activiate it would be for the county court to fill by appointment, subject to § 152 of the Constitution, the board of trustees pursuant to KRS 88.230. Once the board has been appointed it in turn can fill all other appointive offices, including that of marshal. Once the necessary officials have been appointed, they can proceed to operate under the charter of sixth class cities.
We find no statutory procedure that authorizes a city to change its name. The general rule is that a municipal corporation, unlike an individual, cannot change its name, either directly or indirectly or by use, without legislative authorization or sanction. In other words, a name given to a corporation by the legislature may be repealed by a subsequent legislative act conferring a different name since a corporation created by legislative act cannot have two legal names. See McQuillin, Municipal Corporations, Vol. 2, § 5.06.
As you know, the legislature, pursuant to KRS 81.010, has classified the various cities of Kentucky into six classes, the first five containing cities listed by name. Sixth class cities, on the other hand, are referred to as such but are not named. Thus, in the absence of any legislative directive, cities of the first five classes could apparently change their name only by amendment to KRS 81.090. As a matter of fact, we have found several instances in the past where the name of a city has been changed by an act of the legislature. In this respect we refer you to the Acts of 1926, Chapter 138, wherein the name of the town of Poor Fork was changed to Cumberland. We also understand that the same procedure was followed when Glasgow Junction was changed to Park City, though we have been unable to find the act authorizing this change.
With reference to sixth class cities that are not named in KRS 81.010, it would, on the other hand, appear possible that the name of a city of this class could be changed by petition in the circuit court by essentially the same procedural manner required for incorporation. See KRS 81.050. However, we know of no precedent for this and we are merely suggesting this procedure in the absence of legislation covering this matter.