What were Kentucky's maximum constitutional-officer salaries for 1993, and which AG opinion corrected the county figure?
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This page answers the general question as of 1993. Ask about yours and see what current Kentucky law means for your facts, with citations you can check.
Plain-English summary
OAG 93-21 replaced and withdrew OAG 93-12 because the earlier opinion printed $42,887 where the 1993 local-officer maximum should have been $42,877. Using the CPI figures supplied to it, the AG verified the Department of Local Government's 1993 maximum compensation calculations for several county, city, and state offices. The opinion also distinguished the county attorney's combined maximum from the smaller maximum state share for prosecutorial work. These were 1993 figures, and the opinion noted that state budget restrictions could affect application of the state-officer maximums.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1993. 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
County and city officers
For 1993 the AG confirmed a $42,877 maximum for the listed county officers, mayors of cities other than the first class, and members of city legislative bodies. The figure corrected the $42,887 typo in the withdrawn OAG 93-12. The opinion gave a separate $71,462 maximum for mayors of first-class cities.
State officers and governor
The opinion verified a $71,462 maximum for the state constitutional officers it listed, including the lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, and agriculture commissioner. It said KRS 64.480(2) required the listed officers to be paid the maximum each year. It separately verified $84,059 for the governor under a CPI calculation with a different base year. It noted that 1992 budget restrictions might affect how the state-officer maximums applied.
Prosecutors
The AG verified a $71,462 combined maximum for a county attorney's state prosecutorial pay and county civil-adviser pay, with $42,877 as the maximum state share for prosecutorial duties. It gave $71,462 for a full-time Commonwealth's Attorney and $42,877 for a part-time Commonwealth's Attorney, referring to an earlier AG interpretation for the part-time figure.
Common questions
Which 1993 Kentucky AG opinion has the corrected county-officer salary ceiling?
OAG 93-21. It expressly withdrew OAG 93-12 and corrected the local-officer figure to $42,877.
Was the governor's 1993 maximum the same as other state officers' maximum?
No. The opinion verified $84,059 for the governor and $71,462 for the listed other state constitutional officers, using different CPI calculations described in the opinion.
Did the county attorney have one salary ceiling for both state and county duties?
The AG said the combined maximum from both sources was $71,462 in 1993. Within that amount, it calculated $42,877 as the maximum state compensation for prosecutorial duties.
Did the listed state constitutional officers have to receive the annual maximum?
The AG said KRS 64.480(2) required the listed officers to be paid the maximum each year. It also noted that state budget restrictions enacted in 1992 might affect application of those maximums.
Background and statutory framework
The Department of Local Government asked the AG to verify its annual CPI adjustment of constitutional salary limits. The opinion used a 1949 CPI of 71.4 and a 1992 figure of 425.2 for most categories, with a different CPI base for the governor. It relied on Kentucky Constitution section 246, the salary statutes identified in the original text, and the calculation approach attributed to Matthews and Hesch. Coleman supplied the principle that a constitutional compensation limit applies across more than one role. The figures reflect only the 1993 data and law considered in this opinion.
Citations and references
- KRS 64.527 and KRS 83A.075(1): county and city officer salary calculations.
- KRS 64.480(2) and KRS 64.480(4): state-officer and governor calculations.
- KRS 15.765(3), KRS 15.765(1), and KRS 15.755(7): county and Commonwealth's Attorney compensation.
- Matthews v. Allen, Ky., 360 S.W.2d 135 (1962), and Commonwealth v. Hesch, Ky., 395 S.W.2d 362 (1965): CPI adjustment framework cited by the AG.
- Coleman v. Hurst, 226 Ky. 501, 11 S.W.2d 133 (1928): combined compensation limit cited for the county attorney.
Source
Original opinion text
TO BE PUBLISHED
OAG 93-21
February 25, 1993
Hon. Bruce Ferguson, Commissioner
Department of Local Government
1024 Capital Center Drive
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601-8204
Re: Maximum 1993 Compensation of State, County, and City
Constitutional Officers - Accuracy of Consumer Price
Index Salary Adjustment Computations. Opinion correct-
ing typographical error. AGO Corr. Nos. 93-(O)-162 and
93-(0)-277.
Dear Commissioner Ferguson:
Opinion of the Attorney General (OAG) 93-12, issued to you on February 17, 1993, is hereby withdrawn in order to correct a typographical error. That opinion is replaced by this one. The figure $42,887, which appeared at several points in OAG 93-12, in connection with the maximum salaries of local constitutional officers, should have been $42,877.
By letter of February 1, 1993, you ask that this office issue an opinion verifying the accuracy of computations to be used in adjusting salaries of constitutional officers in relation to changes in the Consumer Price Index. The index is issued by the U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Our verification for 1992 was given by OAG 92-27.
Pursuant to KRS 15.755(7); 15.765(1) and (3); 64.480(2), (3), and (4); 64.527; and 83A.075, the Department of Local Government annually computes, by the second Friday in February of each year, the maximum compensation payable to constitutional officers listed in those sections. The computation is made under the theory adopted by the court in Matthews v. Allen, Ky., 360 S.W.2d 135 (1962), and Commonwealth v. Hesch, Ky., 395 S.W.2d 362 (1965).
The Department's computations were based upon the court-established formula application of section 246 of the Kentucky Constitution, setting forth maximum compensation levels for state and local governmental constitutional officers. Under the prescribed formula, salaries paid to constitutional officers are adjusted in accordance with the current purchasing power of the dollar, in relation to salary maximums set in the 1949 amendment of section 246 of Kentucky's Constitution. The adjustments are based upon the "Consumer Price Index" (hereinafter "CPI") maintained by the U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Labor Statistics. A news release issued by the Bureau's Southeast Regional Office at Atlanta, dated January 15, 1993, establishes the CPI as of December, 1992, for "all items" as being 425.2. The CPI for 1949 was 71.4.
We believe the computations shown in your letter of February 1, 1993 are accurate, and accurately reflect the maximum annual compensation allowable by law for the year 1993, for the positions addressed in such letter, given the data supplied.
The following computations are set forth in your letter:
Local Officials - County
Pursuant to the provisions of KRS 64.527, the Department of Local Government is required to compute by the second Friday in February of every year, the maximum annual compensation of the county judge/executives, county clerks, sheriffs, magistrates, county commissioners, coroners, and jailers.
Under the CPI formula adopted by the court in Matthews v. Allen, Ky., 360 S.W.2d 135 (1962), the maximum annual compensation for county officers in 1993 is $42,877, as determined by the following formula:
425.2 (Current CPI in terms of 1949) = X
71.4 $ 7,200
71.4X = 425.2 X $7,200
71.4X = $ 3,061,440
X = $ 42,877 (Rounded)
Local Officials - City
First Class City Mayors
Pursuant to the provisions of KRS 83A.075(1), the Department of Local Government is required to compute by the second Friday in February of every year, the maximum annual compensation of the mayor in cities of the first class. As computed by the Department, the maximum salary for a mayor of a first class city for 1993 is $71,462, as determined by the following formula:
425.2 (Current CPI in terms of 1949) = X
71.4 $12,000
71.4X = 425.2 X $12,000
71.4X = $ 5,102,400
X = $ 71,462 (Rounded)
Mayors of Cities Other Than First Class, Members of Legislative Bodies of Cities of All Classes
Pursuant to KRS 83A.075(1), the Department of Local Government computes the maximum annual compensation for mayors of cities of other than the first class, and of members of legislative bodies of cities of all classes, including cities of the first class. The maximum compensation for these officers for 1993 is $42,877, as determined by the following formula:
425.2 (Current CPI in terms of 1949) = X
71.4 $ 7,200
71.4X = 425.2 X $7,200
71.4X = $ 3,061,440
X = $ 42,877 (Rounded)
State Constitutional Officers
Section 246 of the Constitution of Kentucky sets a maximum compensation of $12,000 for the Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Commissioner of Agriculture, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, Auditor of Public Accounts, and Clerk of the Supreme Court of Kentucky. Pursuant to KRS 64.480(2), these officers must be paid the maximum permissible compensation each year.
As computed by the Department of Local Government, the maximum possible annual compensation to the constitutional officers listed above for 1993 is $71,462, as determined by the following computation:
425.2 (Current CPI in terms of 1949) = X
71.4 $12,000
71.4X = 425.2 X $12,000
71.4X = $ 5,102,400
X = $ 71,462 (Rounded)
Governor
The Department of Local Government has computed the maximum compensation of the Governor for 1993 as $84,059, on the basis indicated below.
Pursuant to the provisions of KRS 64.480(4), the Department of Local Government is required to compute, by the second Friday in February of every year beginning in 1985, an adjusted salary of the Governor. As provided by the statute, the Governor's salary is determined by multiplying the base compensation of $60,000 by the increase in the CPI during the period from January 1, 1984, to the beginning of the then-current calender year, here 1993. The CPI announced in January, 1984, was 303.5, and that announced in January, 1993, 425.2. Accordingly, the Department determined the maximum salary of the Governor for 1993 by the following formula:
425.2 (Current CPI in terms of 1949) = X
303.5 $60,000
303.5X = 425.2 X $60,000
303.5X = $ 25,512,000
X = $ 84,059 (Rounded)
County Attorney
The county attorney, although a county officer under section 99 of Kentucky's Constitution, and KRS 69.210, has been given a statewide function in his prosecutorial role pursuant to KRS 15.730. KRS 15.765(3) provides, in substance and in part, that the maximum annual salary of a county attorney shall be $12,000 pursuant to section 246 of Kentucky's Constitution, as such figure is adjusted consistent with the CPI for the preceding year, using 1949 as the base year, by the second Friday in February of every year. The figure determined upon such basis is the combined maximum the county attorney may receive from both the state, for prosecutorial services, and from the county as its civil advisor. This is in keeping with the ruling in Coleman v. Hurst, 226 Ky. 501, 11 S.W.2d 133 (1928), that the constitutional compensation limit applies whether services are rendered in one position, or more than one.
The Department of Local Government has computed the maximum annual compensation for the county attorney (KRS 15.765(3) based upon the following formula:
425.2 (Current CPI in terms of 1949) = X
71.4 $12,000
71.4X = 425.2 X $12,000
71.4X = $ 5,102,400
X = $ 71,462 (Rounded)
KRS 15.765(1) provides, in effect, that the maximum compensation of a county attorney for prosecutorial duties shall be based upon applying the CPI adjustment to a salary of $7,200. Accordingly the Department has computed the maximum allowable compensation of a county attorney for 1993, for prosecutorial duties, as $42,877, based upon the following formula:
425.2 (Current CPI in terms of 1949) = X
71.4 $ 7,200
71.4X = 425.2 X $7,200
71.4X = $ 3,061,440
X = $ 42,877 (Rounded)
Commonwealth's Attorney
Pursuant to KRS 15.755(7), the maximum annual compensation possible for full-time Commonwealth's Attorneys for 1993 is $71,462 which is based upon the following formula:
425.2 (Current CPI in terms of 1949) = X
71.4 $12,000
71.4X = 425.2 X $12,000
71.4X = $ 5,102,400
X = $ 71,462 (Rounded)
Part-Time Commonwealth's Attorney
OAG 85-54 interpreted the provisions of KRS 15.755 to indicate that part-time Commonwealth's Attorneys are to be paid a salary equal to the maximum state share for the County Attorney. That amount, as indicated above, is $42,877 for 1993.
We have reviewed the Department's computation of maximum salaries of certain public officers, and the bases of those computations as reflected in your letter of February 1, 1993, in view of related legal considerations. We believe the maximum compensation levels computed for 1993 for the positions indicated in your letter are accurate and proper from a legal perspective, based upon the data supplied.
As noted in your letter, application of the maximums shown herein for state constitutional officers may be affected by state budgetary restrictions passed by the 1992 Kentucky General Assembly (See the executive branch budget, Acts, 1992, ch. 462, part IV, KRS ch. 47, Appendix A, part IV).
Sincerely,
CHRIS GORMAN
ATTORNEY GENERAL
Gerard R. Gerhard
Assistant Attorney General
(502) 564-7600
GRG:par
c: Mr. Junie Tutterow
Department of Local Government
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