Request By:
Hon. George T. Hays
Jackson County Attorney
Post Office Box 748
McKee, Kentucky 40447
Opinion
Opinion By: Frederic J. Cowan, Attorney General; Gerard R. Gerhard, Assistant Attorney General
By letter of September 26, 1991, you ask whether there are any provisions for an elected official, such as a constable, to be paid by the sheriff for helping patrol the county.
While there are no statutory provisions specifically providing for a sheriff's employment of a constable to assist in patrolling the county, in our view, subject to the conditions noted below, a sheriff may so employ a constable. Discussion follows.
You explain that an elected constable in Jackson County has been working for the sheriff (apparently assisting in patrolling the county) and that the constable is being paid from the sheriff's funds.
Your letter does not indicate whether the constable involved is acting as a deputy sheriff, nor do you indicate whether the fiscal court has provided for such arrangement.
If the constable is acting as a deputy sheriff, such action presumably would violate KRS 61.080(2), which makes the office of deputy sheriff incompatible with that of constable.
However, subject to a constable's employment being within the scope of approval of the fiscal court pursuant to KRS 64.530, in our view a proper mechanism for a sheriff's employment of a constable to assist in patrolling the county could be established. See OAG 91-118, concerning a sheriff's employment of assistants other than "deputies. " While OAG 91-118 deals principally with a sheriff's employment of non-sworn assistants, the principle that a sheriff may hire assistants other than "deputies" would apply as well to a sheriff's employment of a constable (who has law enforcement authority by virtue of being a constable) . And see, regarding the general principle that a sheriff may employ a constable, OAG 78-66. Copies of both opinions cited above are enclosed for your information.