Request By:
Mr. Mark E. Gormley
Woodford County Attorney
197 South Main Street
Versailles, Kentucky 40383
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Charles W. Runyan, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
In the early 70's, prior to 1978, the county judge, with help from fiscal court, created the Woodford County Police Department. It was placed under the jurisdiction of the Woodford County Sheriff's Office. Later, the county police department was removed from the sheriff's office and put under the county judge, through a county police commission, composed of certain fiscal court members, and a county police chief. At a meeting of the fiscal court on December 8, 1981, that body passed a resolution to put the county police force under the sheriff's office effective December 9, 1981. That resolution, as will be explained hereinafter, was void.
Question No. 1: Can the Woodford County Police Department be placed in and under the jurisdiction of the Woodford County Sheriff. The answer is "no".
We answered that in OAG 74-581. The answer there was "no". A reading of KRS 70.540 indicates clearly that the county police force has no organizational connection with the sheriff's office. They are two mutually exclusive offices. KRS 70.540 provides, inter alia, that "Such police force may consist of a chief and such member, rank and grade subordinate to the chief, and such clerical and skilled employees as the county judge/executive shall deem proper. All of the members and employees of the county police force shall be appointed by the county judge/executive and shall serve for a term of one (1) year from the date of their respective appointments, unless sooner removed by the county judge/executive for neglect of duty or improper conduct." The statute explicitly provides that "The county judges executive of the respective counties shall have and are hereby given the power, jurisdiction and authority to establish, appoint and maintain a county police force within their respective counties * * *." (Emphasis added).
The literal wording of the statute provides for a county police force under the appointive and management authority of the county judge/executive. The statute leaves no room for integrating the police force with the county sheriff's office. Such language must be given its plain and ordinarily understood meaning.
Citizens' Telephone Co. v. City of Newport, 188 Ky. 629, 224 S.W. 187 (1920). The repeal of KRS 70.545 to 70.570 (relating to county police force, rules etc.) in no way derogates the power given to the county judge/executive in KRS 70.540.
Question No. 2: Can the fiscal court alter, abolish, change or in anyway affect the county judge/executive's supervision of the Woodford County Police Force?
The answer is "no". The appointments and supervision of the force is left to the county judge/executive. The motion to put the force under the sheriff's office is indeed a nullity and is wholly invalid.
The fiscal court has a positive responsibility to properly fund an existing county police force under KRS 64.530. Further, the case of
Saylor v. Metcalf, 310 Ky. 137, 220 S.W.2d 99 (1949) held that a circuit court may afford relief in cases where a fiscal court attempts to fix salaries of the county police officers at an unreasonably low level. Thus the case means that once the county judge/executive establishes a county police force, he may obtain court relief to enforce the proper funding of such police force. The fiscal court cannot arbitrarily withhold proper funding. See § 2, Kentucky Constitution and Saylor v. Metcalf, above.
Question No. 3: Can the county judge/executive get involved with the day-to-day supervision of the police force?
From the unambiguous language of KRS 70.540, the county judge/executive is in charge of the overall daily supervision of the county police force. However, you will note that the statute mentions a chief of police, among other personnel, and it is certainly contemplated that the county judge/executive will delegate the responsibility of the day-to-day supervision to a professional chief of police.
Question No. 4: What authority does the fiscal court have over the county police force?
We answered that above. The fiscal court must, as a body, determine and provide for the proper funding of the county police department. See KRS 64.530, 67.080 and 67.083.