Request By:
Hon. William I. Markwell
County Attorney
Courthouse
Henderson, Kentucky 42420
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Elizabeth E. Blackford, Assistant Attorney General
You have asked whether the Henderson County Fiscal Court may be responsible for the operation of Chaney House, a group home for predelinquent boys, ages 12-16, who have been committed to the Department of Human Resources.
The Fiscal Court assumed responsibility for the operation of the Home by resolution in 1971. It is currently being operated by a Board of Directors appointed by the City of Henderson and the County of Henderson. Chaney House is funded by grants from the City, the State and the County.
A fiscal court is a court of limited jurisdiction and may exercise only such power as the Legislature has expressly or by necessary implication conferred upon it.
Burns v. Moore, 209 S.W.2d 735, 307 Ky. 167 (1948). Prior to the 1978 session of the Legislature, the operation of such a home was permissible only in counties containing a city of the first class. See Chap. 201. Now, by virtue of the new Home Rule Statute [67.083, amended Acts 1978, ch. 118, § 3], counties are given greater latitude to provide certain local governmental services. KRS 67.083(3) now reads in part:
"Except as otherwise provided . . . the fiscal court of any county may enact ordinances, issue regulations, levy taxes, issue bonds, appropriate funds and employ personnel in performance of the following public functions:
* * *
(d) . . . programs for the health and welfare of the aging and juveniles, and other public health facilities and services;"
It is the opinion of this office that the Chaney House, as a program designed to provide for the welfare of predelinquent boys, would fall within the ambit of KRS 67.083(3)(d). Therefore, the Fiscal Court has express authority under the Home Rule Bill to appropriate funds for the operation of the Chaney House and to participate in the election of the Board of Directors.
Since the Henderson County Fiscal Court is operating within the bounds of its express powers, the Court would be protected from liability by sovereign immunity. See Kentucky Constitution § 231;