{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-95a.055","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 95A.055","heading":"Definitions for section -- Qualifiers for a fire district as a special purpose","body":"governmental entity -- Annual reports to commission -- Penalties for\nnoncompliance -- Referral of irregularities -- Corrective actions -- Reported\ninformation is publi c record -- Financial review and audit of fire district and\nnonprofit fire department -- Administrative regulations -- Annual report.\n(1) As used in this section:\n(a) \"Fire district\" means any fire protection district or volunteer fire department\ndistrict operating under KRS Chapter 75 with the higher of annual receipts\nfrom all sources or annual expenditures of less than one hundred thousand\ndollars ($100,000); and\n(b) \"Nonprofit fire department\" means any fire department incorporated under\nKRS Chapter 273.\n(2) If a fire district's annual revenues or expenditures equals or exceeds one hundred\nthousand dollars ($100,000) for two (2) consecutive fiscal years, then the fire\ndistrict shall, for the next reporting period and any subsequent reporting peri od for\nwhich it exceeds that amount, be considered a special purpose governmental entity\nas defined in KRS 65A.010 and shall comply with KRS Chapter 65A until its\nannual revenues or expenditures are less than one hundred thousand dollars\n($100,000), whereupon it may again qualify as a fire department under this section.\n(3) Each fire district shall for each fiscal year beginning on and after July 1, 2016,\nannually submit to the commission the information required by this section. The\ninformation shall be su bmitted at the time and in the form and format required by\nthe commission. The information submitted shall include at a minimum the\nfollowing:\n(a) Administrative information:\n1. The name, address, and, if applicable, the term and appointing authority\nfor each board member of the governing body of the fire district;\n2. The fiscal year of the fire district;\n3. The Kentucky Revised Statute and, if applicable, the local government\nordinance under which the fire district was established; the date of\nestablishment; the establishing entity; and the statute or statutes, local\ngovernment ordinance, or interlocal agreem ent under which the fire\ndistrict operates, if different from the statute or statutes, ordinance, or\nagreement under which it was established;\n4. The mailing address and telephone number and, if applicable, the\nwebsite uniform resource locator (URL) of the fire district;\n5. The operational boundaries and service area of the fire district and the\nservices provided by the fire district;\n6. A listing of the taxes or fees imposed and collected by the fire district,\nincluding the rates or amounts charged for the  reporting period and the\nstatutory or other source of authority for the levy of the tax or fee;\n7. The primary contact for the fire district for purposes of communication\nwith the commission;\n8. The code of ethics that applies to the fire district, and wh ether the fire\ndistrict has adopted additional ethics provisions;\n9. A listing of all federal, state, and local governmental entities that have\noversight authority over the fire district or to which the fire district\nsubmits reports, data, or information; and\n10. Any other related administrative information required by the\ncommission; and\n(b) Financial information including budgets and financial expenditure\ninformation that are designed to ensure that all public funds received by the\nfire districts are bein g responsibly used. The commission shall, through the\npromulgation of an administrative regulation, establish the specific financial\ninformation that shall be filed to meet the requirements of this paragraph.\n(4) The commission shall review the reports req uired for fire districts by this section\nand, if the commission finds that a report submitted does not comply with the\nrequirements established by this section and regulations promulgated hereunder, the\ncommission shall notify the fire district in writing.  The notification shall include a\ndescription of the specific deficiencies identified, and shall describe the process the\nfire district shall follow to correct the deficiencies, including the time within which\na response must be provided.\n(5) The commissio n shall ensure that every fire district or nonprofit fire department\nshall at least once every twelve (12) months be subject to a financial review that\nshall include procedures developed by the commission and approved by the Auditor\nof Public Accounts in a dvance. Subsequent changes to these procedures shall also\nbe approved by the Auditor of Public Accounts prior to the period in which they are\nperformed.\n(6) The commission may require any fire district or nonprofit fire department with the\nhigher of annual receipts from all sources or annual expenditures equal to or greater\nthan one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) but less than five hundred thousand\ndollars ($500,000) to once every four (4) years be subject to an independent audit in\nthe manner specified in KRS 65A.030(2).\n(7) The commission shall ensure that every fire district or nonprofit fire department\nwith the higher of annual receipts from all sources or annual expenditures equal to\nor greater than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) for two (2) consecutive\nfiscal years is audited annually in the manner specified in KRS 65A.030(2) until its\nannual revenues or expenditures are less than five hundred thousand dollars\n($500,000).\n(8) The Auditor of Public Accounts may, upon request, examine and r eview the reports\nand all related work papers and documents relating to a financial review or audit\nunder this section.\n(9) If a fire district or nonprofit fire department fails to comply with this section or\nKRS 75.430, then the commission may withhold:\n(a) Incentive pay to qualified firefighters under KRS 95A.250;\n(b) Volunteer fire department aid, funds used to purchase workers' compensation\ninsurance for fire districts and nonprofit fire departments, and the low -interest\nloans under KRS 95A.262;\n(c) Funds from the Thermal Vision and Technical Innovation Grant Program\nunder KRS 95A.400 to 95A.440; and\n(d) Any other funds that the commission controls.\n(10) The commission shall report any irregularities relating to the finances or operations\nof a fire distr ict or nonprofit fire department that it identifies to the Attorney\nGeneral and Auditor of Public Accounts, and the commission may notify any other\npublic official with jurisdiction over fire districts or nonprofit fire departments for\nfurther investigation and follow-up.\n(11) The commission may prescribe corrective actions to bring fire districts or nonprofit\nfire departments that are, as of July 15, 2016, not in compliance with KRS Chapter\n65A into compliance with this section. Any sanctions imposed by th e Department\nfor Local Government prior to July 15, 2016, shall be lifted upon notification by the\ncommission to the department that the fire district or nonprofit fire department in\nquestion has complied with the corrective actions prescribed by the commission.\n(12) The information reported by fire districts or nonprofit fire departments under this\nsection shall be considered public records under KRS 61.872 to 61.884. The\ncommission shall prominently post on its website the availability of the information\nrequired by this section and shall provide contact information and procedures for\nobtaining copies of the information.\n(13) The commission shall promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with\nKRS Chapter 13A as soon as practicable after July 15, 2016, to implement this\nsection and KRS 75.430.\n(14) By October 1, 2016, and on or before each October 1 thereafter, the commission\nshall file an annual report with the Legislative Research Commission detailing the\ncompliance of the fire districts or nonpr ofit fire departments required to report\nunder this section with subsection (3) of this section. The Legislative Research\nCommission shall refer the report to the Interim Joint Committee on Local\nGovernment for review.","path":["KRS Chapter 95A"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57625","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:49:56Z","sha256":"dac59e0ea6ec2790fb66d95a6148fe30e621e4f18a10cdfcd9755b1135eac392","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-95a.050","next":"us-ky/krs-95a.057"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}