Request By:
Milton K. Graham, Superintendent
Bardstown Public Schools
308 North Fifth Street
P.O. Box G
Bardstown, Kentucky 40004
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By William S. Riley, Assistant Attorney General
In your recent letter to Mr. Robert Chenowith, it is stated the Bardstown Independent School District wishes to continue the past practice of collecting local taxes. A copy of a memorandum to the Judge, Sheriff and Fiscal Court of Nelson County is attached. It is requested that you be advised concerning the legality of the memorandum.
The proposal covers the collection of school taxes for the 1977-78 fiscal year. School tax will be reduced by 30 with the sheriff being responsible for collecting this amount based on the assessment. This year's tax rate is 65.5 with the sheriff receiving 4% of the amount collected. The board of education proposes to continue the collection of taxes for the school district, print tax bills, provide office space and pay 54.2% of the salary of the tax collector. The cost to the board of education is computed to be $3902.40 and to the fiscal court $3297.60. The court is paying the same percentage of the envelope and postage cost totaling $757, the school board's share being $410.30 and the fiscal court's share being $346.70.
Under KRS 160.500 as amended by the 1976 General Assembly an independent school district may select a special tax collector. The fixed rate shall be not more than 4% of the school taxes or school levy in such independent school district. The tax collector is required to execute bond. The penal sum of the bond shall not be less than the aggregate of the tax bills coming into the hands of the special tax collector. The school taxes are to be listed by the clerk on a separate tax bill. The clerk shall be allowed a fee not to exceed 3 for each separate tax bill to be paid by the independent district board of education.
Nothing in the statute provides for the fiscal court to either assume part of the cost for each special tax collector or share envelope and postage costs. It would appear that all costs should come out of the 4% fee. It should also be pointed out that the special tax collector collects only the local school fund levy. All state levies, particularly those provided for in KRS 132.020, which became effective January 1, 1977, must be collected by the sheriff and remitted to the state.