Request By:
Mr. James Hite Hays
Shelby County Attorney
501 Main Street
Shelbyville, Kentucky 40065
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Charles W. Runyan, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
The fiscal court wants to employ a certain qualified pipe fitter to do considerable work on the heating system in the Shelby County Courthouse. This man happens to be the husband of the county judge/executive's secretary. The secretary is also the deputy county judge/executive.
You ask if there is a conflict of interest here.
Of course KRS 61.220 prohibits a county judge/executive's spouse from having claims against the county. The legal theory is that, because of the property inheritance laws, a claim of the spouse is indirectly a claim of the county judge/executive. However, we do not believe KRS 61.220 applies, since the deputy is not a "member" of the fiscal court as is envisioned by that statute. The deputy, under KRS 67.711, is merely a stand-in or statutory proxy in the absence of the county judge/executive. See the related KRS 61.210. See OAG 72-167, copy enclosed, of related interest.
KRS 45A.455(1)(a) prohibits this county employee, the secretary and deputy county judge/executive, from participating in any way with the employment of her husband. Thus she, as deputy county judge/executive, must refrain from sitting on the fiscal court, even though the county judge/executive is absent or unable to attend, when that body is dealing with the matter of hiring her husband. She must scrupulously avoid discussing such employment with or influencing members of the fiscal court in any way.
The literal wording of KRS 45A.455, in prohibiting a county employee from participating directly or indirectly in any proceeding involving a contract with her spouse, must be observed.
Department of Revenue v. Greyhound Corporation, Ky., 321 S.W.2d 60 (1959) 61.
We concluded in OAG 80-279, copy enclosed, that the Model Procurement Code (KRS 45A.345 to 45A.460) is optional with local public agencies. If the Shelby County Fiscal Court officially decides to not adopt the code, then KRS 45A.455, dealt with above, will have no application. However, even in the absence of KRS 45A.455, it is our opinion that public policy dictates that the deputy county judge/executive must avoid participating, directly or indirectly, in any proceeding involving a county contract with her spouse.