Request By:
Honorable William L. Stevens
Attorney at Law
Professional Arts Building
326 Main Street
Danville, Kentucky 40422
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Walter C. Herdman, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
This is in answer to your letter of January 12 in which you relate that you have a client who is interested in running for the office of city commissioner for the city of Danville and request our opinion concerning the following question:
"Are there any residency requirements for the office of Commissioner of a city of the third class with a City Manager form of government? If so, what are they?"
KRS 89.470 governs the qualifications of city officers generally under the city manager form of government. This statute reads as follows:
"Any legal voter not less than twenty-five (25) years of age and possessing the other qualifications prescribed by law shall be eligible to election to any office under the city manager form of government. "
The office of city commissioner is of course peculiar to the commission and city manager forms of government and there are no other qualifications provided for by law for this particular office, which means, in effect, that the qualifications required for members of the city council of third class cities operating under the councilmanic forms of government would not in our opinion apply to the office of city commissioner. These qualifications include a two-year residency requirement for members of the city council and other city offices pursuant to KRS 85.060 and 85.280.
Thus, any person who is a legal voter of the city [which means a registered voter as held in Howell v. Wilson, Ky., 372 S.W.2d 627 (1963)] would be qualified to hold the office of city commissioner, provided, of course, he possesses in addition the age qualification set out in the above statute. As you know, of course, a person is only required to reside within the city thirty (30) days next preceding an election in order to be eligible to register to vote. See KRS 116.025.