2022 Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 81 - City classification, boundaries, and alternative method of consolidating governmental services 81.062 Incorporated cities listing requirement with Secretary of State -- Notice -- Administrative dissolution -- Exemptions -- Appeals -- Debts of city -- Effect of dissolution on operating utility.
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81.062 Incorporated cities listing requirement with Secretary of State -- Notice -Administrative dissolution -- Exemptions -- Appeals -- Debts of city -- Effect of
dissolution on operating utility.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
In order to update the record of incorporated cities listed in the Secretary of State's
office, every city operating as a public corporation and a unit of local government
shall file with the Department for Local Government before September 1, 2022, a
document listing the name of the city, the address and phone number of its
headquarters, the year of its incorporation if it is known, and its form of
government. Any city that made a filing with the Department for Local Government
pursuant to KRS 83A.085 after January 1, 2022, shall be deemed in compliance
with this subsection without any further action.
If a city does not timely file the information set out in subsection (1) of this section,
the Department for Local Government shall, no later than October 15, 2022, notify
the city in writing by first class mail return receipt requested at the city's last known
official address, that the city is not in compliance with the provisions of subsection
(1) of this section. The notice shall include:
(a) The filing requirements imposed by this section; and
(b) A statement to the city that failure to comply with the requirements of
subsection (1) of this section by December 1, 2022, shall subject the city to
administrative dissolution proceedings under this section.
If the Department for Local Government does not receive a response from the city
by December 1, 2022, then the Department for Local Government shall cause to be
published in a newspaper of general circulation serving the residents in the area of
the city pursuant to KRS Chapter 424, and in a prominent place on the department's
Web site, a notice stating that:
(a) The city has failed to respond in accordance with the provisions of subsections
(1) and (2) of this section, and therefore, the city is subject to dissolution
proceedings if the city fails to respond to the requirements of subsection (1) of
this section, or any citizen, resident, or creditor of the city fails to enter a
defense as set out in this subsection by January 1, 2023;
(b) Creditors of the city are hereby notified that the debts of the city shall be
extinguished if they are not otherwise discoverable in the administrative
hearing, or unless a successful defense is entered pursuant to the
administrative hearing convened pursuant to this section; and
(c) Citizens, residents, or creditors of the city may enter a defense to the
administrative dissolution by sending in written notice to the Department for
Local Government that includes their name and other contact information, the
city's name in question, a preliminary statement of their legal claim of why the
city should not be administratively dissolved, or the entry of a claim against
the city by a creditor, and any other information the Department for Local
Government deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this subsection.
After January 1, 2023, the Department for Local Government shall arrange for an
administrative hearing to be set pursuant to the provisions of KRS Chapter 13B to
determine whether or not the city shall be administratively dissolved for failure to
comply with subsection (1) of this section. The hearing shall be conducted within
the boundaries of the city being administratively dissolved, or if no place within the
city is suitable, the administrative hearing shall be conducted in a place as close as
possible to the city in order to provide easy access to the hearing by persons living
within the city. If a citizen, resident, or creditor of the city has entered a defense
pursuant to this section by January 1, 2023, the defense shall be heard at the
hearing, and the hearing officer shall decide whether or not the city shall be
administratively dissolved. If no citizen, resident, or creditor of the city enters a
defense to administrative dissolution, then the city shall be declared
administratively dissolved.
(5) No city shall be dissolved pursuant to this section if:
(a) The city is maintaining a city government by both the election or appointment
of officers and the levying and collection of necessary taxes;
(b) The city provides the information required in subsection (1) of this section in
response to the inquiries in subsections (1) to (3) of this section before
January 1, 2023; or
(c) A successful defense is made to the petition as set out in subsection (4) of this
section.
(6) Any elected official of the city, any citizen or resident of the city, or any creditor
may appeal the decision of the hearing officer in accordance with the provisions of
KRS Chapter 13B.
(7) If the city is dissolved pursuant to this section, the Department for Local
Government shall notify the Secretary of State and the county clerk of each county
wherein the city was located of the dissolution. The county clerk shall properly
index and file the notice as a permanent record in that office.
(8) Any debts of the city shall be satisfied on a pro rata basis. Any assets of the city
remaining after dissolution shall be transferred to the county or counties in which
the city was located. If the creditors agree to a pro rata share of the city's remaining
assets, or if no creditors appear after notification occurs or the time period elapses
pursuant to subsection (4) of this section, then the remaining debts of the city shall
be extinguished. In no event shall the county be liable for any remaining debts of
the city after the assignment of any remaining assets.
(9) Any judgment granting the dissolution of a city made pursuant to this section shall
not impair the incorporation of a city at a future date under the provisions of KRS
81.050 and 81.060 that may include all or a portion of the former city's boundaries.
(10) (a) If a city that is dissolved pursuant to this section has a utility in operation at
the time of dissolution, then that utility shall remain in operation pursuant to
the authority under which it was created unless the utility is declared part of
the county or reorganized under paragraph (b) of this subsection. However,
the county judge/executive of the county in which the utility operates shall
make appointments to replace any board members whose terms expire after
the dissolution of the city.
(b)
With the agreement of the board of the city utility, or in the absence of a
board, at the discretion of the county judge/executive, the county
judge/executive may declare the city utility a department of the county or may
reorganize the city utility as a special district, either standing alone or
combining it with an existing special district in operation in the county under
the provisions of KRS 67.715.
Effective: July 14, 2022
History: Created 2022 Ky. Acts ch. 25, sec. 1, effective July 14, 2022.
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