Request By:
Mr. Donald F. Doyel
Edmonson County Judge Executive
Courthouse
Brownsville, Kentucky 42210
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Charles W. Runyan, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
The inquiry just received from you relates to an ambulance service district.
The letter reads:
"I am writing in regards to a special district and tax that the Edmonson County Fiscal Court passed and established in June of 1982. This established an Ambulance District Board and the tax was to support this District. After which there was a petition filed by a qualified number of citizens to require it placed on the next general election ballot, which was Nov. 2, 1982. The citizens voted to abolish the district and the tax; after which the fiscal court had no alternative but to close the ambulance service in Edmonson County for lack of funding. Since that date, there is a major interest within the county to have this placed on the ballot again. My question is: How quick and what procedures need to be taken to get this back on the ballot for another vote?"
We assume, from your chronology and specific time sequence, that the fiscal court of your county, pursuant to KRS 108.105, created by ordinance an ambulance service district and an ambulance service district tax.
Then you say in effect that under KRS 108.160, the people voted to dissolve the district and its tax. We assume that the critical requirements of KRS 108.160 were fully met, including the requirement of KRS 108.160(4) that a resolution for dissolution (resolution of fiscal court submitted the ambulance question to the voters) of the district shall not be considered to have-any legal effect if contractual obligations assumed prior to the time of passage of the resolution by the fiscal court have not been met. Padgett v. Sensing, Ky., 438 S.W.2d 501 (1969).
Your question is when can this ambulance district question be presented again to the voters?
KRS 108.100(1) reads:
"Except as provided in KRS 108.105, districts shall be organized in the following manner:
"(1) Upon the filing of a certified petition of one hundred (100) or more qualified voters in each city or county to be included within the territorial limits of the proposed district or upon the determination of each fiscal court or city legislative body in the proposed district that the establishment of a district is in the best interests of the inhabitants of the county or city, the fiscal court of each county or city legislative body in the proposed district shall adopt a resolution submitting to the qualified voters of the city or county the question as to whether an emergency ambulance service district shall be established for the area and a special ad valorem tax imposed for the maintenance and operation of the district, not to exceed ten cents ($ .10) on each one hundred dollars ($100) of the assessed valuation of all property in the district. A certified copy of the resolution of the fiscal court or city legislative body shall be filed with the county clerk at least sixty (60) days prior to the next regular election and thereupon the clerk shall cause the question to be placed on the ballot. " (Emphasis added).
Under the literal wording of KRS 108.100(1), it is our opinion that the ambulance district question cannot be placed on the ballot earlier than the regular election in November, 1983.
Under § 148, Kentucky Constitution, not more than one election each year shall be held in Kentucky or in any city, town, district or county thereof, except as otherwise provided in this Constitution. All elections of state, county, city, town or district officers must be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
Thus the phrase "next regular election" , appearing in KRS 108.100(1), is referring to the November election in § 148, Constitution, just referred to.
There are four types of elections that have been constitutionally declared to be exceptions under this section. The four exceptions are: (1) Local option elections (See § 61, Ky. Const.); (2) Vacancies in the General Assembly (see § 152, Ky. Const.); (3) Election of school trustees and other common school district elections (§ 155, Ky. Const.); and (4) County indebtedness in excess of 5% of value of taxable property for public road purposes (§ 157a. Ky. Const.). See Ginsburg v. Giles, 254 Ky. 720, 72 S.W.2d 438 (1934) 439. Obviously the question of creating an ambulance service district is not one of the exceptions.