Request By:
Hon. Vince Lang
Hart County Judge/Executive
P.O. Box 486
Munfordville, Kentucky 42765
Opinion
Opinion By: FREDERIC J. COWAN, ATTORNEY GENERAL; Thomas R. Emerson, Assistant Attorney General
Your letter concerns KRS 108.110 relative to the composition of the Board of Directors of an Ambulance District.
The ambulance district in question consists of one county and was organized pursuant to KRS 108.100. KRS 108.100(1)(d) states that if the district consists of one county, three members shall be appointed to the board of directors by the county judge/executive of the county. KRS 108.100(1)(g) provides that the legislative body of each city of the first three classes, or if there is no such city, the city of the highest class located within each county in the district shall appoint one additional director.
You state that Hart County contains no cities of the first three classes but it does contain two cities of the fifth class. You are concerned as to whether these cities are entitled to representation on the board of directors of the ambulance district.
There are no reported court cases construing the provision in question. The language comprising this statutory section is somewhat unclear; while we will offer our opinion as to what it means, the matter may ultimately have to be resolved by the courts.
Since KRS 108.110(1)(g) uses the phrase "the city of the highest class located within each county in the district" as opposed to the city of the highest class located within the county, the statutory subsection appears to be referring to a multicounty district rather than a single county district. Since you are concerned with a single county district, your district may retain its three member board of directors and need not afford representation to the city or cities within the county unless a court of law renders a judgment to the contrary.