Request By:
Ms. Helen O'Dell
LaRue County Court Clerk
Hodgenville, Kentucky 42748
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By William S. Riley, Assistant Attorney General
With your recent letter to the Attorney General you have enclosed Revenue Form 62A369 entitled "County Court Clerk's Monthly Report of Land Redemptions." Two questions are asked in connection with the filling out of such form.
(1) Is KRS 134.500 correct as to the 20% County Attorney commission?
Your attention is directed to KRS 134.500(3) which states that the county attorney who prepares the notice and has it filed, as provided in subsection (1) of this section, shall cause a notice of the purchase to be served by the sheriff on the person in whose name the property was assessed, and advise him that the certificate is a lien of record against his land that bears interest at 12% per annum, and if not paid the county attorney will proceed to collect the certificate. He shall be due 20% of the amount due each taxing unit, whether the tax claim is voluntarily paid or is paid through sale or under court order. Such commission shall be paid to him by the county clerk when making distribution. The answer therefore to question (1) is yes, KRS 134.500 is correct as to the allowing of a 20% commission to the County Attorney.
(2) Is the sheriff allowed 16% of the penalty?
Your attention is directed to KRS 134.440 covering advertisement of sale of tax liens and compensation of the sheriff.
Subsection (2) of that statute states that as compensation for his services the sheriff shall receive $1.00 for each tax claim advertised. He shall, in addition, when a certificate of delinquency filed with the county clerk is paid, be entitled to 6% of that part of the tax claim represented by the total taxes plus 6% penalty. Both fees are to be added to the amount of the tax claim as part of the certificate of delinquency and paid by the person who pays the tax claim.