{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-83a.040","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 83A.040","heading":"Election of mayors and legislative bodies -- Qualifications -- Vacancies --","body":"Removal of elected officers.\n(1) A mayor shall be elected by the voters of each city at a regular election. A\ncandidate for mayor shall be a resident of the city for not less than one (1) year\nprior to his or her election. His or her term of office shall begin on the first day of\nJanuary following his or her election and shall be for four (4) years and until his or\nher successor qualifies. If a person is elected or appointed as mayor in response to a\nvacancy and serves less than four (4) calendar years, then that period of service\nshall not be considered for purposes of re -election a term of office. A mayor shall\nbe at least twenty -one (21) years of age, shall be a qualified voter in the city, and\nshall reside in the city throughout his or her term of office.\n(2) If a vacancy occurs in the office of mayor, the following provisions shall apply:\n(a) The legislative body of the city shall fill the vacancy within thirty (30) days;\n(b) A member of the legislative body in any city organized and governed under\nthe commission plan as provided by KRS 83A.140 or city manager plan as\nprovided by KRS 83A.150 may vote for himself;\n(c) A member of the legislative body in any city o rganized and governed under\nthe mayor-council plan as provided by KRS 83A.130 and in any city of the\nfirst class organized under the mayor -alderman plan as provided by KRS\nChapter 83 shall not vote for himself; and\n(d) The legislative body shall elect from  among its members an individual to\npreside over meetings of the legislative body during any vacancy in the office\nof mayor in accordance with the provisions of KRS 83A.130 to 83A.150.\n(3) When voting to fill the vacancy created by a resignation of a mayor  the resigning\nmayor shall not vote on his or her successor.\n(4) Each legislative body member shall be elected at large by the voters of each city at\na regular election. A candidate for a legislative body shall be a resident of the city\nfor not less than o ne (1) year prior to his or her election. His or her term of office\nshall begin on the first day of January following his or her election and shall be for\ntwo (2) years, except as provided by KRS 83A.050. A member shall be at least\neighteen (18) years of a ge, shall be a qualified voter in the city, and shall reside in\nthe city throughout his or her term of office.\n(5) (a) If one (1) or more vacancies on a legislative body occur in a way that one (1)\nor more members remain seated, the remaining members shall  within thirty\n(30) days fill the vacancies one (1) at a time, giving each new appointee\nreasonable notice of his or her selection as will enable him or her to meet and\nact with the remaining members in making further appointments until all\nvacancies are filled.\n(b) If a majority of the membership on a legislative body is vacated as a result of\na judgment by a Circuit Court or on appeal under KRS 120.165(4) because of\nan election error due to no fault of any candidate or fraud, a new special\nelection shall be called a nd held as soon as practicable for the bona fide\ncandidates only. Members of the legislative body whose term expires shall\nremain in office until the contest and any appeals of the regular election are\ncomplete and final.\n(c) If vacancies occur in a way th at all seats become vacant, the Governor shall\nappoint qualified persons to fill the vacancies sufficient to constitute a\nquorum. Remaining vacancies shall be filled as provided in this section.\n(6) If for any reason, any vacancy in the office of mayor or the legislative body is not\nfilled within thirty (30) days after it occurs, the Governor shall promptly fill the\nvacancy by appointment of a qualified person who shall serve for the same period\nas if otherwise appointed.\n(7) No vacancy by reason of volunta ry resignation in the office of mayor or on a\nlegislative body shall occur unless a written resignation which specifies a\nresignation date is tendered to the legislative body. The resignation may be\nsubmitted through electronic mail if it originates from t he official's electronic mail\naddress and includes also the official's handwritten signature. The resignation shall\nbe effective at the next regular or special meeting of the city legislative body\noccurring on or after the date specified in the written let ter of resignation. If a\nresignation date is not specified, the written resignation shall be deemed to become\neffective at the first regular or special meeting of the legislative body occurring on\nor after its receipt.\n(8) Pursuant to KRS 118.305(7), if a vacancy occurs which is required by law to be\nfilled temporarily by appointment, the legislative body or the Governor, whichever\nis designated to make the appointment, shall immediately notify in writing both the\ncounty clerk and the Secretary of State of the vacancy.\n(9) Except in cities of the first class, any elected officer, in case of misconduct,\nincapacity, or willful neglect in the performance of the duties of his or her office,\nmay be removed from office by a unanimous vote of the members of the leg islative\nbody exclusive of any member to be removed, who shall not vote in the deliberation\nof his or her removal. No elected officer shall be removed without having been\ngiven the right to a full public hearing. The officer, if removed, shall have the rig ht\nto appeal to the Circuit Court of the county and the appeal shall be on the record.\nNo officer so removed shall be eligible to fill the office vacated before the\nexpiration of the term to which originally elected.\n(10) Removal of an elected officer in c ities of the first class shall be governed by the\nprovisions of KRS 83.660.","path":["KRS Chapter 83A"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=58058","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:49:44Z","sha256":"e7ab43c38b02e81d9e6cb6d55acd551e9be378908861c50c965819d851cf1720","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-83a.030","next":"us-ky/krs-83a.043"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}