Request By:
Mr. Ben S. Fletcher, III
Attorney at Law
P.O. Box 1065
701 South Main Street
Hopkinsville, Kentucky 42240
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Charles W. Runyan, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
You raise the following questions concerning the Home Rule Statute for counties:
Would the "Home Rule Statute" , KRS 67.083, allow a Fiscal Court to adopt an Ordinance or Resolution stating that county fee officers (county clerk, sheriff, etc.) must place taxpayers' monies collected each day in a "public account" at a financial institution as opposed to a "personal account" at a financial institution?
Also could said "public account" be set up in such a way that the Fiscal Court would have complete control over said account?
You told us that you are referring to the statutory fees collected by the fee officers.
It is our opinion that the fiscal court, in a county of less than 75,000 population, can pass an ordinance or order providing that certain elected fee officers, such as the county clerk and sheriff, turn their statutory fees over to the county treasury, with the understanding that the salaries of such officers and their deputies and necessary office expenses thereof be paid out of the county treasury. See KRS 67.080(6) and 67.083. KRS 67.080(1)(c) and (d) provide that the fiscal court may regulate and control the fiscal affairs of the county; and cause correct accounts and records to be kept of all receipts and disbursements of the public funds of the county; and have the accounts of all county officers audited. See also
Funk v. Milliken, Ky., 317 S.W.2d 499 (1958); and
Ader v. Howard, Ky., 263 S.W.2d 491 (1954).
In OAG 74-1, copy enclosed, we noted that on December 14, 1973, the Fiscal Court of Christian County passed a resolution providing that the fee offices of the county judge, county attorney, sheriff, jailer and county clerk must, beginning January 7, 1974, turn all their fees into the county treasury; and the county treasurer in turn shall pay each such fee officer his monthly salary from the general fund. We ruled in that opinion that the fiscal court had the authority to establish such an accounting system. The authority for the system is found presently in KRS 67.080(1)(c) and (d) and (6) and 67.083, as we said above.
Since OAG 74-1 was issued, changes in statutory law have made the county judge/executive and county attorney essentially non-fee officers. Therefore, they should be removed from that system since they are essentially "salary" officers. See KRS 15.765, 69.210, 67.705 and 67.710.
We pointed out in OAG 74-1 that the fiscal court must observe the payment of compensation to such fee officers in terms of "earned fees" and the maximum payable under KRS 64.527 (rubber dollar formula).
Since such revenues of those county fee officers are public monies, the fees turned over to the county treasury must be put into a "public account" , covering each fee officer, as a part of the county treasury's accounting system. In this way the fiscal court will have complete control over such public accounts within the county treasury. Such accounts are readily subject to audit and a daily appraisal of balances. See KRS 68.020, relating to the duties of the county treasurer. Also see