Request By:
Mr. Sam W. Arnold, III
Harrison County Attorney
16 East Pike Street
Cynthiana, Kentucky 41031
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; John H. Gray, Assistant Attorney General
Thank you for your letter of June 9, 1981 in which you ask several questions regarding the library tax within a library district formed by petition (KRS 173.720).
Your letter first asks if the tax rate can be suspended or amended by the fiscal court and/or county library board without a petition. It is the opinion of this office that under KRS 173.790(1) a library tax rate established by the petition method may be decreased only by the petition method. As said in OAG 67-263, a library district created under KRS 173.720 (petition method) can only be dissolved by petition method (KRS 173.800) and such district can only procure a change in the library tax rate by the petition method (KRS 173.790); thus, the method of creation of a library district (whether petition or vote) governs the method of dissolution and tax rate change; such methods must be the same. It is felt that nothing said in OAG 80-570 would lead to a contrary result.
You next ask if there would be any individual liability to members of the fiscal court when they do not decide in what manner the funds are expended. Under KRS 173.720(4) all library taxes are to be turned over to the library board of the library district. The library board and its treasurer, and not the members of the fiscal court, are responsible for the expenditure of funds in accordance with KRS 173.745 and 173.755. Therefore, there would be no liability for members of the fiscal court for nonexpenditure of library funds.
Your final question asks whether another district can be established prior to the dissolution by petition of the present county wide district. It is the opinion of this office that the establishment of a second library district within a county, while another library district is still in existence, would be contrary to the provisions of KRS 173.715. KRS 173.715 speaks in terms of authorization to organize all of the territory in a county into a library district and makes no provisions for there being more than one library district in the same county. As the Harrison County Library District is already in existence, another library district in Harrison County would not be authorized until the disestablishment of the Harrison County Library District in accordance with KRS 173.800.
It is hoped that this letter has adequately answered your questions. If not, please feel free to ask for further explanation.