{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-75.130","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 75.130","heading":"Discipline of members and employees.","body":"(1) Except as provided in subsection (5) of this section no member or employee of a\nfire protection district shall be reprimanded, dismissed, suspended, or reduced in\ngrade or pay for any reason except inefficiency, misconduct, insubordination, or\nviolation of law or of the rules adopted by the board of trustees of the fire protection\ndistrict, and only after charges are preferred and a hearing conducted as provided in\nthis section.\n(2) Any person may file charges against a member or employee of a fire protecti on\ndistrict by filing them with the secretary of the board of trustees and by delivering or\nmailing the charges to the principal fire house in the fire protection district. The\nsecretary shall immediately communicate the charges to the board of trustees by\nmailing or delivering a copy of the charges to each member of the board of trustees\nwithin seven (7) days of receipt of the charges at the principal fire house. The\nchairman of the board of trustees shall, after conducting or having conducted any\ninquiry or investigation which may be necessary, determine if probable cause\nappears. The chairman shall prefer charges to the board of trustees against any\nmember or employee against whom probable cause exists, of conduct justifying the\ndismissal or punishment of  the member or employee. If probable cause does not\nexist, the chairman shall dismiss the charges. All charges shall be written and shall\nset out clearly the charges made. The person filing the charges may withdraw them\nat any time prior to the conclusion of the hearing. The charges may then be\ndismissed.\n(3) Charges preferred by the chairman of the board of trustees shall be heard by either\nthe full board or a committee consisting of at least three (3) members of the board\nof trustees appointed by the chairman. At the hearing all charges shall be considered\ntraversed and put in issue, and the trial shall be confined to matters related to the\nissues presented. Within forty -five (45) days after the charges have been preferred\nby the chairman to the board of t rustees, that body, or a committee consisting of at\nleast three (3) members of the board of trustees appointed by the chairman, shall\nproceed to hear the charges. At least ten (10) days before the hearing the member or\nemployee accused shall be served pers onally or by registered mail with a copy of\nthe charges and a statement of the day, place, and hour at which the hearing of the\ncharges will begin. The person accused may, in writing, waive the service of\ncharges and demand trial within thirty (30) days af ter the charges are preferred to\nthe board of trustees.\n(4) The board of trustees of the fire protection district may summon and compel\nattendance of witnesses at hearings by subpoena issued by the secretary of that body\nand served upon the witnesses by any officer authorized to serve court subpoenas. If\nany witness fails to appear in response to a summons, or refuses to testify\nconcerning any matter on which he may lawfully be interrogated, any District\nJudge, on application of the board of trustees, may c ompel obedience by\nproceedings for contempt as in the case of disobedience of a subpoena issued from\nthe District Court. The member or employee accused may have subpoenaed any\nwitnesses he may desire, upon furnishing their names to the secretary of the boa rd\nof trustees. The written records of the charges, the hearing, if held, and any other\nactions or decisions of the board of trustees on the charges shall be kept as an open\npublic record and maintained as required by KRS Chapter 61.\n(5) When the board of trustees or the chief of the fire protection district has probable\ncause to believe a member or employee of a fire protection district has been guilty\nof conduct justifying dismissal or punishment, the board or the chief may suspend\nthe member or employee from duty or from both pay and duty, pending trial, and\nthe member or employee shall not be placed on duty, or allowed pay, until the\ncharges are heard. If the member is suspended, there shall be no continuances\ngranted without the consent of the member or  employee accused. If the member\nsuspended is a paid firefighter or  an employee, the hearing on the charges shall be\nconducted within fourteen (14) days after the charges have been preferred by the\nchairman of the board of trustees.\n(6) The board of trust ees of the fire protection district shall fix the punishment of a\nmember or employee of a fire protection district found guilty, by a reprimand,\nsuspension for any length of time not to exceed six (6) months, by reducing the\ngrade if the accused is an offi cer, or by combining any two (2) or more of those\npunishments, or by dismissal as a member or employee of the fire protection\ndistrict.","path":["KRS Chapter 75"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=24448","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:49:35Z","sha256":"74508c948f040ba2a77180f7290808c7d421c63897e7de71f26fb32ffb9abb3e","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-75.120","next":"us-ky/krs-75.140"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}