Request By:
Hon. James C. "Jimmy" Brown
County Judge Executive
Muhlenberg County Kentucky
P.O. Box 137
Greenville, Kentucky 42345
Opinion
Opinion By: Frederic J. Cowan, Attorney General; Gerard R. Gerhard, Assistant Attorney General
Explaining that the Kentucky Revised Statutes require the County Judge/Executive to make a proposed budget for the Jailer as well as the entire county, you ask whether the fiscal court may "ignore" the jail budget proposed by the County Judge/Executive, and adopt the jail budget proposed by the Jailer.
In our view the answer is a "qualified" yes. Since any change in the overall budget proposed by the county judge/executive pursuant to KRS 68.240(1), must be made by an amendment by the fiscal court (KRS 68.240(6)), the fiscal court cannot literally "ignore" the jail budget proposed by the county judge/executive. However, since the fiscal court has express statutory discretion to amend the overall county budget proposed by the county judge/executive "according to its desires" (KRS 68.240(6)), it can effectively adopt the jail budget proposed by the jailer, over that proposed by the county judge/executive.
The key statutory provisions that must be considered to answer your question are KRS 441.215, which establishes certain procedures regarding preparation of the jail budget, and KRS 68.240, which relates to the contents of the overall county budget, and the duties of the fiscal court in such regard.
KRS 441.215 provides in part:
(1) By April 1 of each year, the county judge/executive, county treasurer and jailer shall prepare and submit to the fiscal court a proposed line item jail budget and an estimate of revenues for jail operations from federal, state and local sources. The proposed jail budget and estimate of revenues shall be included in the proposed county budget and investigated by the fiscal court as provided in KRS 68.240.
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(3) The fiscal court shall consult with the jailer prior to any amendment of the jail budget. The fiscal court shall possess sole authority to transfer funds between line items.
(4) If, in the opinion of the jailer, the jail budget as proposed or as amended by the fiscal court, fails to adequately provide for the safe and secure operation of the jail or the care of prisoners, the jailer shall submit a written statement of such concerns along with any written documentation, to the fiscal court and to the corrections cabinet.
KRS 68.240 provides, in part:
(1) The county judge/executive shall annually prepare a proposed budget for the expenditure of all funds, including those from state and federal sources, which are to be expended by the fiscal court in the next fiscal year.
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(6) The fiscal court shall comment upon the proposed budget, and may amend it according to its desires prior to the date when it is sent to the state local finance officer according to the procedures of KRS 68.250.
Although a jailer, in view of KRS 441.215(1) (above), must cooperate with the county judge/executive and the county treasurer in the preparation of a proposed line item jail budget, the jailer could prepare a separate jail budget proposal, and tender it to the fiscal court pursuant to KRS 441.215(4). The fiscal court could adopt the jailer's proposal (assuming necessary elements were present) into the overall county budget through its amendment authority pursuant to KRS 68.240(6), and thereby eliminate or modify the jail budget proposed by the county judge/executive.