2016 Kentucky Revised Statutes CHAPTER 95A - FIRE PROTECTION PERSONNEL .055 When a fire department is considered a special purpose governmental entity -- Annual reports to commission -- Penalties for noncompliance -- Referral of irregularities -- Corrective actions -- Reported information is public record -- Administrative regulations -- Annual reports to Legislative Research Commission.
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95A.055 When a fire department is considered a special purpose governmental
entity -- Annual reports to commission -- Penalties for noncompliance -Referral of irregularities -- Corrective actions -- Reported information is
public record -- Administrative regulations -- Annual reports to Legislative
Research Commission.
(1)
(2)
(3)
As used in this section, "fire department" means:
(a) Any fire protection district or volunteer fire department district operating
under KRS Chapter 75; or
(b) Any fire department incorporated under KRS Chapter 273;
with the higher of annual receipts from all sources or annual expenditures of less
than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000).
If a fire department's annual revenues or expenditures equals or exceeds one
hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for two (2) consecutive fiscal years, then the
fire department shall, for the next reporting period and any subsequent reporting
period for which it exceeds that amount, be considered a special purpose
governmental entity as defined in KRS 65A.010 and shall comply with KRS
Chapter 65A until its annual revenues or expenditures are less than one hundred
thousand dollars ($100,000), whereupon it may again qualify as a fire department
under this section.
Each fire department shall for each fiscal year beginning on and after July 1, 2016,
annually submit to the commission the information required by this section. The
information shall be submitted at the time and in the form and format required by
the commission. The information submitted shall include at a minimum the
following:
(a) Administrative information:
1.
The name, address, and, if applicable, the term and appointing authority
for each board member of the governing body of the fire department;
2.
The fiscal year of the fire department;
3.
The Kentucky Revised Statute and, if applicable, the local government
ordinance under which the fire department was established; the date of
establishment; the establishing entity; and the statute or statutes, local
government ordinance, or interlocal agreement under which the fire
department operates, if different from the statute or statutes, ordinance,
or agreement under which it was established;
4.
The mailing address and telephone number and, if applicable, the Web
site uniform resource locator (URL) of the fire department;
5.
The operational boundaries and service area of the fire department and
the services provided by the fire department;
6.
A listing of the taxes or fees imposed and collected by the fire
department, including the rates or amounts charged for the reporting
period and the statutory or other source of authority for the levy of the
tax or fee;
7.
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
The primary contact for the fire department for purposes of
communication with the commission;
8.
The code of ethics that applies to the fire department, and whether the
fire department has adopted additional ethics provisions;
9.
A listing of all federal, state, and local governmental entities that have
oversight authority over the fire department or to which the fire
department submits reports, data, or information; and
10. Any other related administrative information required by the
commission; and
(b) Financial information including budgets and financial expenditure information
that are designed to ensure that all public funds received by the fire
departments are being responsibly used. The commission shall, through the
promulgation of an administrative regulation, establish the specific financial
information that shall be filed to meet the requirements of this paragraph.
The commission shall review the reports required by this section and, if the
commission finds that a report submitted does not comply with the requirements
established by this section and regulations promulgated hereunder, the commission
shall notify the fire department in writing. The notification shall include a
description of the specific deficiencies identified, and shall describe the process the
fire department shall follow to correct the deficiencies, including the time within
which a response must be provided.
If a fire department fails to comply with this section or KRS 75.430, then the
commission may withhold:
(a) Incentive pay to qualified firefighters under KRS 95A.250;
(b) Volunteer fire department aid, funds used to purchase workers' compensation
insurance for fire departments, and the low-interest loans under KRS
95A.262;
(c) Funds from the thermal vision grant program under KRS 95A.400 to
95A.440; and
(d) Any other funds that the commission controls.
The commission may report any irregularities relating to the finances or operations
of a fire department that it identifies to the Attorney General, Auditor of Public
Accounts, or any other public official with jurisdiction over fire departments for
further investigation and follow-up.
The commission may prescribe corrective actions to bring fire departments that are,
as of July 15, 2016, not in compliance with KRS Chapter 65A into compliance with
this section. Any sanctions imposed by the Department for Local Government prior
to July 15, 2016, shall be lifted upon notification by the commission to the
department that the fire department in question has complied with the corrective
actions prescribed by the commission.
The information reported by fire departments under this section shall be considered
public records under KRS 61.872 to 61.884. The commission shall prominently
post on its Web site the availability of the information required by this section and
shall provide contact information and procedures for obtaining copies of the
information.
(9) The fire commission shall promulgate administrative regulations under KRS
Chapter 13A as soon as practicable after July 15, 2016, to implement this section
and KRS 75.430.
(10) By October 1, 2016, and on or before each October 1 thereafter, the commission
shall file an annual report with the Legislative Research Commission detailing the
compliance of the fire departments required to report under this section with
subsection (3) of this section. The Legislative Research Commission shall refer the
report to the Interim Joint Committee on Local Government for review.
Effective: July 15, 2016
History: Created 2016 Ky. Acts ch. 91, sec. 3, effective July 15, 2016.
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