Request By:
Honorable Richard M. Sullivan
Office of Jefferson County Attorney
27th Floor, Citizens Plaza
Louisville, Kentucky 40202
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Walter C. Herdman, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
This is in answer to your letter of September 24 in which you raise the following question:
"The question is whether or not it is incompatible and thus forbidden by the constitution and/or statutes of Kentucky for a full time county employee of Jefferson County, Kentucky to also serve as a trustee of a sixth class city located in Jefferson County, Kentucky."
Our response to your question would be in the negative in so far as § 165 of the Constitution and KRS 61.080 are concerned. These provisions in no way inhibit a county employee from holding a municipal office. This leaves only the possibility of a common law incompatibility where the person in question cannot perform the duties of both offices at the same time with care and ability, or where one is superior to the other. Neither possibility would appear to be involved in the question of whether or not a county employee could hold a municipal office such as membership on the board of trustees, which is not a full time position.