Request By:
Mr. Jimmie W. Greene
McCreary County Judge/Executive
Courthouse
Whitley City, Kentucky 42653
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Charles W. Runyan, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
In 1978 you created, established and appointed, pursuant to KRS 70.540, a county police force. In the 1978-79 budget the fiscal court made provisions for the county police force in the amount of $12,000. In the proposed budget of 1979-80, the budget commission proposed $15,000 for that organization (salaries and expenses). On July 12, 1979, the fiscal court, by a majority vote, voted to delete all funds from the budget relating to the McCreary County Police Department, and to transfer funds in that account to the county road fund.
The United States Forest Service has provided communication equipment and cruisers for the use of the county police (by cooperative agreement for the policing of federal parks and property) at a cost of approximately $20,000.
You raise the following questions:
Question No. 1:
"If I retain the Police Department against the wishes of the fiscal court, can the fiscal court be held responsible for the paying of the salary for the police captain? "
Any valid appointee of the county police system must be a regular day-by-day employee, with a fair salary for his work. However, the financial support for such an operation must come out of the county treasury. That means the fiscal court will budget an amount for that purpose and later authorize the salaries and expenses by an appropriate order of fiscal court. The answer to this question is that it is not mandatory that fiscal court fund such county police force, except where to disband the present county police force would result in an impairment of an obligation of contract. In other words, if the fiscal court's legislative act of taking away funds for the county police came after the fiscal court's contract with the federal government to maintain a county police force, and it reasonably appears that the disbanding of the county police force would constitute a breach or impairment of that contract, then such taking away of the funding of the county police would be unconstitutional. This is true since § 19 of the Kentucky Constitution prohibits any law impairing the obligation of contract.
Hoskins Grocery Co. v. Creech Coal Co., 247 Ky. 8, 56 S.W.2d 555 (1933) 556; and
Piney v. Nelson, 183 U.S. 144, 22 S. Ct. 52, 46 L. Ed. 125.
Question No. 2:
"If the Fiscal Court can be held responsible for the salary of the police captain, what procedures should I take to acquire such funds?"
We have answered this in question no. 1. If the withholding of funds for the county police constitutes an impairment of the fiscal court's contract with the federal government, then the fiscal court must take appropriate steps to fund the county police force. If the fiscal court has adopted the budget under KRS 68.260, then the fiscal court may transfer money from one fund to the county police fund to provide for such emergency. See KRS 68.290.