Request By:
Honorable Fred H. Summe
Attorney at Law
306-307 Lawyers Building
Fourth & York Streets
Newport, Kentucky 41071
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Walter C. Herdman, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
This is in answer to your letter of March 11 in which you, as City Attorney for the city of Silver Grove, raise the question as to whether or not the city may appoint a city treasurer who is a nonresident where there is no person residing within the city willing to serve as such, in view of KRS 87.160 requiring all municipal officers of a city of the fifth class to be a resident and qualified voter in the city.
Our response to your question must be in the negative since the position of city treasurer is a municipal office, established pursuant to KRS 87.170(2), and we have so held in a number of prior opinions. This being the case, no one can legally serve as city treasurer unless he is a qualified voter of the city as required by KRS 87.160 which means, of course, a legal and registered voter within the city.
The office of city treasurer can however be consolidated with the office of city clerk under the terms of KRS 87.175. In other words, the city clerk could be given the duties of the city treasurer if no city resident can be found who is willing and qualified to serve as such.