Request By:
Hon. William E. Fletcher
Princeton City Attorney
City Hall
206 N. Jefferson Street
Princeton, Kentucky 42445
Opinion
Opinion By: David L. Armstrong, Attorney General; Walter C. Herdman, Asst. Deputy Attorney General
This is in response to your letter of January 4 in which you refer to KRS 83A.130(9) governing the appointment and removal of employees. You raise the following questions:
"Does the mayor of a 4th class city have the authority to appoint and remove police officers absent approval of the city council? In either event, is a due process hearing required before such officer may be reduced in rank or fired?"
The 1982 Legislature amended KRS 83A.130(9) concerning the appointment and removal of employees by including police officers which means that the mayor has sole authority to appoint police officers as well as employees and remove such officers and employees at will and without the approval and consent of the city council. The right to remove police officers or employees by the mayor is qualified where such officers or employees are under some form of civil service which you indicate is not the case, or with respect to police officers where charges are brought against them under the Policemen's Bill of Rights statute, namely KRS 15.520. This is assuming that such officers are compensated in part under the Kentucky Law Enforcement Foundation Fund. However, even if so funded the mayor still has the power to remove a police officer at will if no complaint is filed as provided in KRS 15.520. See McCloud v. Whitt, Ky. App., 639 S.W.2d 375 (1982).
KRS 83A.130(9) does, however, authorize the council to enact appropriate legislation prohibiting the removal of police officers and employees except for cause which may include a due process hearing. Subsection (9) reads as follows:
"The mayor shall be the appointing authority with power to appoint and remove all city employes, including police officers, except as tenure and terms of employment are protected by statute, ordinance or contract and except for employes of the council."
Since the mayor is the chief executive officer of the city he would also have the power to reduce an officer in rank provided there is no statute or ordinance prohibiting or regulating this subject.