Merged city-county governments share ethics appointments and oversee government audits

The mayor and council appoint a seven-member panel to enforce local ethics rules. These requirements cover ethics panels in Kentucky’s merged city-county governments. The mayor appoints three members. Each of the council’s two largest political groups appoints two. No more than three members may belong to the same political party. Members must have belonged to their registered party for at least four years immediately before selection. The panel must use county attorney staff or have the county attorney arrange outside legal help under the applicable purchasing rules. Regular terms last four years. For replacement appointments, the mayor names one four-year member and two two-year members. Each council group names one four-year member and one two-year member.

Councils follow district map rules, may hire legal advisers, and may override certain board rules. The council may also override conduct rules affecting residents or businesses from boards operating under KRS Chapter 109 or 212. The county attorney’s opinions do not require council approval of legislation. District populations must stay within 2.5% of the target. Voting precincts may be divided only when needed to meet population requirements. Maps cannot put two serving members together unless an affected member requests it. Maps cannot exclude a serving member’s home from that member’s district. Districts must be compact and connected. Maps must respect neighborhood, community, and city boundaries whenever possible. The council or either major political group may hire lawyers to advise it or prepare or review legislation. Their legal opinions are advisory. Council rules cannot block filing legislation that meets the required form. Districts are redrawn if needed after each ten-year census is officially published. A council must adopt a resolution within 45 days of a covered board rule’s issuance to override it.

A separate internal audit office reports directly to the council and reviews government finances and performance. The office can review all departments, offices, boards, and activities of the merged city-county government. The office must have enough funding to carry out its duties. The council sets the appointment process by local law. The responsible hiring body must approve the candidate by a majority of its full membership. The audit leader must be at least 21 and meet any additional qualifications set by the council. The council may remove the leader through its established process for neglect, inability to serve, improper work, or wrongdoing. The audit leader serves four-year terms and may serve consecutive terms. A leader serving before the law’s effective date may finish that appointment and is eligible for reappointment.

People petitioning to form a city or enlarge city boundaries must send their completed petition to the county clerk first. This process covers petitions to form cities or add territory to cities within merged city-county governments. Petitions must meet the requirements of KRS 65.012(1). The county clerk sends the petition to the merged government’s council after finding the signatures in order. Signature review does not itself approve forming a city or adding territory to a city. The one-year circulation period starts on the date of the first signature.

Councils may adopt separate property tax rates for land and improvements, such as buildings. Separate rates apply only within the former first-class city’s boundaries. Improvements include buildings, cultivated crops, and changes to the land’s surface. The council must adopt the separate property categories by local law. The improvements rate may be lower than the land rate but must remain a real tax. The calculation for holding revenue steady uses both rates together. The test for allowing voters to challenge revenue increases above 4% also uses combined revenue. The homestead exemption, a reduction in taxable home value, applies first to improvements and then to land. Rate changes must follow the listed tax laws, and the money must support the services specified by law. The combined revenue calculation applies in any tax year when the council uses separate rates.