Request By:
Mr. Paul Howard
Chief, Leslie County Patrol
Office of County Judge/Executive
Leslie County Fiscal Court
Hyden, Kentucky 41749
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Charles W. Runyan, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
The Leslie County Sheriff's Office is the object of your inquiry. Your letter reads:
"The Sheriff in Leslie County is on the Fee system and is not paid a salary through the Fiscal Court. However, the Fiscal Court does furnish his office supplies, patrol car, gas and the uniforms for his deputies. The Court also pays the salary of the Sheriff's secretary and two deputies. The only expense the Sheriff has is the salary of $1,000.00 a month that is paid to his wife.
I would like an opinion on the following questions:
1. Can the Sheriff legally charge the public for services such as warrants and civil summons that are served by the two deputies whose salaries are paid by the Fiscal Court?
2. Is it the legal responsibility of the Sheriff to furnish any of the funds to pay the expenses for his office?"
The necessary official expenses of the sheriff's office may be paid: (1) from the fees of the sheriff's office; or (2) from the county treasury upon proper budgeting procedure pursuant to KRS Chapter 68; or (3) from a combination of the sheriff's fees and the county treasury. Funk v. Milliken, Ky., 317 S.W.2d 499 (1958).
However, it is necessary to understand, in connection with question no. 1, that the funding of the necessary official expenses of the sheriff's office is one thing, and the charging of fees for services rendered by the sheriff or his deputies is another. Since the sheriff is a fee officer, the fee for executing a warrant or summons is covered in KRS 64.090, regardless of whether the process is served by the sheriff or one of his deputies. Fees earned by the sheriff and his deputies must be, when received, turned into the sheriff in order that he can later make his annual report to fiscal court and turn over to the county any excess fees. The sheriff, who is compensated wholly or in part from fees, is required to pay over to the county, at the end of each calendar year, the excess of receipts over and above the amounts allowable for his personal compensation, the compensation of his legally authorized deputies and assistants, and authorized official expenses. Funk v. Milliken, above. Thus, in the absence of a statute to the contrary (and we know of none in this situation), the fees earned by the sheriff's deputies must be turned into the sheriff's official account. See also Ader v. Howard, Ky,. , 263 S.W.2d 491 (1954), relating to the accounting system of local constitutional officers.
In reply to question no. 2, the sheriff is legally bound to use the fees of his office to pay necessary official expenses of his office, except where particular expenses are funded out of the county treasury. In any event, as we said above, the sheriff must account to the county for any excess fees at the end of each calendar year (excess of receipts over disbursements).