Request By:
Honorable Benjamin J. Lookofsky
Graves County Attorney
Graves County Court House
Mayfield, Kentucky 42066
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Walter C. Herdman, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
This is in response to your second letter dated February 21 concerning the procedure for the county to follow to revert back to a magisterial form of government. You relate the following facts and questions:
"Pursuant to our letter of February 5 1980, and our telephonic conversation of this date, please render us an opinion if a petition has to be presented to the Fiscal Court for an election to be held to determine if the commissioner form of the Fiscal Court should be returned to the magistrate form of Fiscal Court and when said election must be held. In addition, please advise as to the exact wording of the question to be placed on the ballot."
It is apparent that our response to your initial letter of February 5 crossed in the mails [OAG 80-106], however, in the event you did not receive it, we are enclosing a copy of same. This opinion set forth the procedure that must be followed in order for the county to revert from a commission form of government to a magisterial form and is self-explanatory. Incidently, concerning the time for holding the election which is at any regular November election, we refer you to the case of
Patterson v. Lawson, 255 Ky. 781, 75 S.W.2d 507 (1934).
One of the additional questions raised concerns the filing of the petition which must be presented to the county judge/executive [not the fiscal court] who must enter an order on his order book calling for the election on the question following the petition's examination as to its validity.
With respect to the wording of the question you will note the wording found in KRS 67.050 (1) which reads: "Are you for or against having a fiscal court composed of three (3) commissioners and the county judge/executive?" This phraseology can be used by substituting the words "justices of peace" for the word "commissioners" and also indicating the number of justices that are to be elected. The number must be not less than three (3) nor more than eight (8), pursuant to § 142 of the Constitution. Under the circumstances, we suggest the following wording: "Are you for or against having a fiscal court composed of justices of the peace and the county judge/executive?"