Could a Kentucky flood wall commission put its benefit assessment on the county property tax bill?
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This page answers the general question as of 1992. Ask about yours and see what current Kentucky law means for your facts, with citations you can check.
Plain-English summary
The Spencer County Flood Wall Commission wanted to place its benefit assessments on ordinary county property tax bills. The AG said it could not. The commission had been organized under Kentucky's drainage and reclamation law, and that law prescribed a separate assessment and collection process.
The opinion distinguished two flood control systems. A district formed under KRS chapter 268 collected assessments based on property benefits; the AG said those assessments were not property taxes. A district established under chapter 104 could levy a property tax added to the regular bill. The Spencer County commission belonged to the first system, so it had to use chapter 268's collection procedure.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1992. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.
Historical summary
Flood wall commissioners
The AG said the commission's chapter 268 origin controlled how it collected its assessment. KRS 268.420 supplied the collection method, which differed from ordinary property tax collection in penalties and early-payment credit.
County tax officials and assessed property owners
The opinion did not treat a chapter 268 benefit assessment as a county property tax. The county's regular property tax bill could carry a chapter 104 flood control tax, but not this commission's chapter 268 assessment.
Common questions
Could the Spencer County commission add its assessment to the county tax bill?
No. The AG said its assessment had to be collected through the procedure for districts formed under chapter 268.
Why did the opinion distinguish a benefit assessment from a property tax?
The AG said the two flood control chapters created and financed districts differently. Chapter 268 used property-benefit assessments; chapter 104 authorized a property tax that could appear on regular tax bills.
Did similar flood control purposes let the commission use chapter 104's billing rule?
No. The opinion said the chapters provided separate financing systems and applied the one under which the commission was formed.
Background and statutory framework
The commission was formed under KRS chapter 268. The opinion cited KRS 268.470 for apportioning its assessment by benefit and KRS 268.420 for collection. It contrasted a chapter 104 district, established under KRS 104.460, whose property tax could be added to ordinary tax bills under KRS 104.670.
Citations and references
- KRS 268.470: assessment based on property benefits.
- KRS 268.140 and KRS 268.420: chapter 268 district formation and collection.
- KRS 104.460 and KRS 104.670: chapter 104 district formation and property tax billing.
- Board of Drainage Commissioners v. Graves County, 209 Ky. 193, 272 SW. 387 (1925): cited for the distinction between a benefit assessment and a tax.
Source
Original opinion text
OAG 92-23
February 12, 1992
Hon. John D. Dale, Jr.
P.O. Box 494
Taylorsville, Kentucky 40071
Dear Mr. Dale:
You have asked whether a benefit assessment imposed by the Spencer County Flood Wall Commission may be included on the county's regular property tax bills. We conclude that it may not.
You state that the commission was formed under the Drainage and Reclamation Act of 1918, which is codified in KRS chapter 268. You point out that KRS 268.470 requires that the assessment be apportioned on the basis of benefits to the property, while KRS 104.670 allows the assessment of a true property tax for flood control with the tax being added to the regular property tax bill.
While chapters 268 and 104 both deal with flood control, they provide entirely separate means of establishing and financing flood control districts. Under chapter 268, the district is created by order of the fiscal court and is funded by beneficial assessments. KRS 268.140; 268.340. A beneficial assessment is not a tax. Board of Drainage Commissioners v. Graves County, 209 Ky. 193, 272 SW. 387 (1925). The assessment is collected under the mechanism established in KRS 268.420. This mechanism differs from regular property tax collection in several respects, including the calculation of penalties and credit for early payment.
Under chapter 104, the district is established by the secretary for natural resources and environmental protection. KRS 104.460. The tax authorized, as pointed out above, is a property tax that is added to the regular property tax bills. KRS 104. 670.
Since the Spencer County Flood Wall Commission was organized under chapter 268, the provisions in that chapter apply. The Commission must follow the tax collection procedure set out in chapter 268, which precludes the inclusion of the assessment on county property tax bills.
Sincerely,
Chris Gorman
Attorney General
Ross T. Carter
Assistant Attorney General
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