Request By:
Mr. C. A. Williams
Laurel County Clerk
Courthouse
London, Kentucky 40741
Opinion
Opinion By: David L. Armstrong, Attorney General; By: Charles W. Runyan, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
Your letter deals with the need for additional deputies for your office. It reads:
"I am writing in regard to our telephone conversation of November 28, concerning hiring additional help in my office. At that time you instructed me to submit a letter on the subject and you would research the matter. Prior to me taking office in January, 1982 the fiscal court and the former county court clerk had agreed upon a number of deputies for a period of 4 years. In which they say cannot be changed."
"At this time I am in desperate need of 2 more deputies due to the excess work load. (Effective January 1, 1984, my office will be responsible for the collecting on motor vehicle tax, which will result in an additional work load) ."
KRS 64.530(3), (4) and (5), relating to fixing the number of deputies, reads:
"(3) In the case of officers compensated from fees, or partly from fees and partly by salary, the fiscal court shall fix the maximum compensation that any officer except the officers named in KRS 64.535 may receive from both sources. The fiscal court may also fix the number of deputies and assistants, and the compensation thereof, and the maximum amount that the officer may expend each year for expenses of his office."
"(4) In the case of county officers elected by popular vote and the county attorney, in the event the fiscal court provides him a salary, the monthly compensation of the officer and of his deputies and assistants shall be fixed by the fiscal court not later than the first Monday in May in the year in which the officers are elected, and the compensation of the officer shall not be changed during the term but the compensation of his deputies or assistants may be reviewed and adjusted by the fiscal court not later than the first Monday in May in any successive year upon the written request of the officer. On or before August 1, 1966, the fiscal court shall fix the salary provided herein for the county attorneys for the term commencing in January, 1966, notwithstanding any other provisions of this section which may be inconsistent herewith."
"(5) Nothing in this section shall apply to property valuation administrators or their deputies, assistants and expenses, in any county, or to the circuit court clerk, county clerk, sheriff, jailer, and their deputies, assistants and expenses, in counties having a population of 75,000 or more."
The case of Funk v. Milliken, Ky., 317 S.W.2d 499 (1958), in connection with KRS 64.530(3), established the principle that the number of deputies of the constitutional officer must be set by the fiscal court no later than the first Monday in May in the year of the election (here 1981), and the number cannot be changed during the term.
Since there is no express provision in KRS 64.530 for the flexibility of changing the number of deputies during the term, we must unfortunately conclude that KRS 64.530, as interpreted in Funk v. Milliken, still governs as general law.
This matter of flexibility addresses itself to the General Assembly. Perhaps KACO may wish to take this up with them. Note that in the specific instance of jailers, pursuant to KRS 71.060, any jailer may appoint not more than two (2) deputies, and, with the approval of the fiscal court, may appoint additional deputies at any time during the jailer's term of office. Also note the flexibility of appointing additional deputies of the county clerk in counties containing a population of 75,0000 or over. KRS 64.345(5). Apparently the General Assembly felt that the special problems of jailers generally and county clerks in the counties of 75,000 or over require a special treatment of the problem.