Request By:
The cities of Taylor Mill and Edgewood, Kentucky
Opinion
Opinion By: ANDY BESHEAR,ATTORNEY GENERAL;Laura C. Tipton,Assistant Attorney General
Opinion of the Attorney General
The cities of Taylor Mill and Edgewood, Kentucky, request an opinion of this office regarding the manner in which cities may collect delinquent city ad valorem taxes. Specifically, they ask whether a city that elects to have its ad valorem taxes, including delinquent taxes, collected by the county sheriff may have certificates of delinquency auctioned and sold to third parties in the same way as county certificates of delinquency. Based on the plain language of KRS 91A.070(1)(b), we advise that it may.
A statute is interpreted first and foremost according to its plain meaning. "In interpreting a statute, we have a duty to accord to words of a statute their literal meaning unless to do so would lead to an absurd or wholly unreasonable conclusion. As such, we must look first to the plain language of a statute and, if the language is clear, our inquiry ends."
Commonwealth v. Moore , 545 S.W.3d 848, 851 (Ky. 2018) (quoting
University of Louisville v. Rothstein , 532 S.W.3d 644, 648 (Ky. 2017)).
Here, KRS 91A.070(1) provides, "Any city may by ordinance elect to have all city ad valorem taxes including delinquent taxes collected by the sheriff of the county." 1Then, pursuant to KRS 91A.070(1)(b), if a city has made such an election, "The sheriff shall collect all city ad valorem taxes, including delinquent taxes, in the same manner as county ad valorem taxes as provided in KRS Chapter 134. . . . All procedures provided by KRS Chapter 134 concerning collection of delinquent taxes by counties shall be applicable ." (Emphasis added). KRS 134.128 governs the sale of county certificates of delinquency to third party purchasers.
Previously, this office has interpreted KRS 91A.070(1) and (1)(b), finding that if a city elects to have its ad valorem taxes collected by the county sheriff, "then KRS 134.500, providing for the county attorney to prosecute delinquent tax claims, applies." OAG 83-397. Additionally, this office has quoted KRS 91A.070(1)(b) and noted that the "difficulty arises in determining what collection statutes apply when the city does not elect to have the sheriff collect its city ad valorem taxes ." OAG 83-159 (emphasis added).
Thus, pursuant to the plain language of KRS 91A.070, where a city properly elects to have city ad valorem taxes, including delinquent taxes, collected by the county sheriff, all procedures in KRS Chapter 134 for the collection of delinquent taxes apply. This necessarily includes the procedures for the sale of certificates of delinquency.
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