KRS 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) 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 complian ce

with this subsection without any further action.

(2) 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.

(3) If the Department for Local Government doe s 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 promi nent 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 credito rs 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.

(4) 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 t he 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 subsec tion (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 credit ors 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 un der 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 rema in 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 sh all

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.