Request By:
Mr. Paul E. Mick, Secretary
Marion-Crittenden County Park Board
P.O. Box 191
Marion, Kentucky 42064
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Thomas R. Emerson, Assistant Attorney General
This is in reply to your letter stating that the Marion City Council and the Crittenden County Fiscal Court created a joint city-county park board. The park board requests an opinion as to whether the treasurer of such an organization must be bonded.
We direct your attention to KRS 97.035, subsection one of which authorizes in part the creation of a joint board by any city and county for the purposes of establishing, maintaining and conducting a park and recreation system. See also KRS 97.010(2) which provides that any city and county may jointly establish, maintain and conduct a park and recreation system.
KRS 97.035(3), dealing with the joint board, provides as follows:
"The board shall be a body corporate for all purposes, and shall elect from its membership a chairman, secretary and treasurer. The treasurer shall execute a bond conditioned on the faithful performance of his duties sufficient in amount to cover funds coming into his hands. The premium on such bond shall be paid from board funds." (Emphasis supplied.)
Since the word "shall" means "mandatory" [KRS 446.010(29)], the treasurer of a joint city-county park board created pursuant to KRS 97.035 is required to execute a bond sufficient in amount to cover the funds coming into his hands.