Request By:
Mr. Douglas Brandenburg
Lee County Judge Executive
Box g
Beattyville, Kentucky 41311
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Charles W. Runyan, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
You have additional questions on the county jailer and sheriff.
Question No. 1: Is the jailer required to mow the courthouse yard?
If the jailer is employed as the superintendent of county buildings and grounds pursuant to KRS to KRS 67.130, he would be required, among other things, to see to it that the courthouse yard is mowed, as a basic maintenance of grounds.
Question No. 2: Does the jailer have a set of rules by law which he is to follow?
The basic statutory requirements or legislative "rules" are collected in KRS Chapter 71. See especially KRS 71.020, 71.030, 71.040, and 71.060. House Bill 440 in the 1982 session dealt with other duties of jailers. KRS 441.016 requires the jailer to submit quarterly reports to fiscal court concerning the physical condition of the jail, the number of jail personnel and personnel needs and other related matters requested by fiscal court. The jailer by that statute is required to submit monthly reports to the Bureau of Corrections concerning the unit of government whose law the prisoner is charged with violating, the status of prisoners, whether pending trial or post conviction, the age and sex of prisoners, the county responsible for incarceration of the prisoner.
Under KRS 441.011, the Bureau of Corrections is required to adopt regulations by January 1, 1983, concerning jail standards. See that statute for details.
Under KRS 441.010, the fiscal court may prescribe rules for the government and cleanliness of the county jail and the comfort and treatment of prisoners, consistent with statutory law.
Question No. 3: Is fiscal court required to pay the jailer's son who, at times, stays at the jail as deputy jailer?
Pursuant to KRS 441.008(2), the county treasurer must disburse jail operating funds (as part of the jail budget, which is included in the county budget) at the direction of the jailer, provided the expenditures are within authorized budget categories. The fiscal court has no direct authority over jail budget expenditures. However, such authorized budget categories must be in conformity with authorized statutory expenditures. Precisely, KRS 71.060 authorizes a jailer to have two (2) deputies and, with approval of fiscal court, the jailer may appoint additional deputies at any time during the jailer's term of office. Since the jailer's son is only a part time deputy at most, you will have to examine the records of fiscal court to determine whether fiscal court has approved of any such part time deputy appointment.
Question No. 4: Is the sheriff required by law to have someone in his office at all times, when it is open, for the purpose of inspecting out of state cars for licensing in Kentucky?
In connection with the licensing of motor vehicles in Kentucky, see KRS 186.140 - 186.150, and KRS 186.430. See the penalty statute, KRS 186.990(1). According to those statutes, a person who is or becomes a resident of Kentucky must immediately apply for his or her automobile license and operator's license in this state.
Any peace officer, including sheriffs and their deputies, under KRS 281.765, has a responsibility for enforcing motor carrier laws in KRS Chapter 281 and other laws relating to motor vehicles and boating.
The answer to your question is that the providing of a deputy or deputies to enforce such licensing law is left to the sound discretion of the sheriff, considering the number of his deputies and the total statutory functions of that office, which, in the main, include tax collection, election duties, service to courts, and law enforcement. There is no statute pinpointing what you have in mind.
Question No. 5: Does the sheriff's staff require bonding in connection with the sheriff's tax collection function? Is there any certain age for such tax collectors? Is the sheriff's bond sufficient for his employees?
The sheriff's staff consist of deputies. See KRS 70.030. Under KRS 70.040, the sheriff is liable for the acts or omissions of his deputies. Thus the sheriff may require his deputies to execute bond to cover their responsibility for indemnifying the sheriff or the sheriff's office. A deputy sheriff must be at least twenty-one (21) years of age or over, pursuant to KRS 61.300. The sheriff must execute a faithful performance bond under KRS 70.020, in addition to the sheriff's bond under KRS 134.230 as a tax collector. However, it is up to the sheriff as to his requiring bonds of his deputies.
Question No. 6: Is a person allowed to live in one county and work in another county for the sheriff?
Pursuant to KRS 15.335, a peace officer (here a deputy sheriff) is not disqualified from holding a position as a peace officer by reason of his residence or voting eligibility, except as provided in the constitution. Section 234 of the Constitution requires county officers to reside in their counties. However, the Court of Appeals held, in
City of Newport v. Schindler, Ky., 449 S.W.2d 17 (1970) 18, that § 234 applies only to those officers named and designated in the constitution. Thus a city policeman is not such an officer. Neither is a deputy sheriff directly named and designated in the constitution.
The answer to this question is that a deputy sheriff, where it is satisfactory to the sheriff, may live in a Kentucky county other than the county in which his employing sheriff lives.
Question No. 7: Is the sheriff or jailer allowed to hire members of their families? The answer is yes, if they meet applicable statutory requirements.