What salary ceilings did Kentucky calculate for constitutional officers in 1994?
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This page answers the general question as of 1994. Ask about yours and see what current Kentucky law means for your facts, with citations you can check.
Plain-English summary
In 1994, Kentucky's Attorney General reviewed the Department of Local Government's Consumer Price Index calculations for maximum annual compensation of specified constitutional officers. It accepted the Department's figures as legally accurate on the data supplied. The opinion used the 1949 index value of 71.4 and the December 1993 value of 436.8 for most offices, with a different 1984 base for the Governor.
The figures were maximums for 1994. The opinion quoted KRS 64.480(2) as requiring the listed state constitutional officers to be paid the maximum permissible compensation each year, while cautioning that the 1992 state budget enactment could affect application of those maximums. It did not say that every other officeholder was entitled to the listed maximum. The source also prints one county-attorney formula line with the numbers run together as "436.871.4"; the surrounding equations and reported result use the same 436.8 and 71.4 values stated elsewhere.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1994. 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
1994 maximums by office
| Office or group described in the opinion | 1994 amount |
|---|---|
| Listed county officers; mayors outside first-class cities; city legislative members | $44,047.06 |
| First-class city mayors; listed state constitutional officers | $73,411.76 |
| Governor | $86,352.55 |
| County attorney, combined state and county maximum | $73,411.76 |
| County attorney, prosecutorial component | $44,047.06 |
| Full-time Commonwealth's attorney | $73,411.76 |
| Part-time Commonwealth's attorney | $44,047.06 |
The listed county officers were county judge/executives, clerks, sheriffs, magistrates, commissioners, coroners, and jailers. The AG said the Department was required to compute the maximums by the second Friday in February under the cited statutes.
Calculation method
The AG described the usual calculation as adjusting a 1949 constitutional salary base by the ratio of the later CPI to the 1949 CPI. For the Governor, the opinion instead used the $60,000 statutory base and the 1984 CPI value of 303.5. It accepted the Department's rounded results and cited Kentucky cases for the CPI adjustment method.
Scope of the approval
The office verified the computations for the positions and data in the request. It specifically noted that the maximum for state constitutional officers might be affected by the 1992 state budget enactment.
Common questions
Was $44,047.06 the 1994 maximum for every official?
No. The opinion gave that amount for the listed county officers and certain city and prosecutor categories, while other offices had different maxima.
Did the Governor use the same 1949 base as county officials?
No. The AG described a separate calculation using a $60,000 base and the CPI change from the 1984 index value.
Did the listed figures determine what every officeholder would be paid?
No. The opinion verified maximum calculations for the listed offices. It said KRS 64.480(2) required the named state constitutional officers to receive the maximum each year, subject to a possible effect of the 1992 budget enactment.
Background and statutory framework
The Department of Local Government asked the AG to check its annual CPI salary-adjustment calculations. The opinion cited KRS 64.527 for county officers, KRS 83A.075(1) for city officials, KRS 64.480 for state officers and the Governor, and KRS 15.765 and KRS 15.755 for county and Commonwealth's attorneys. It approved the reported 1994 numbers based on the supplied data. The original text below retains the source's one malformed formula line exactly as published.
Citations and references
- KRS 64.527: county-officer maximum computation.
- KRS 83A.075(1): city mayor and legislative-member computations.
- KRS 64.480(2) and (4): state-officer and Governor computations.
- KRS 15.765(3): county-attorney combined maximum.
- KRS 15.755(7): full-time Commonwealth's attorney maximum.
- Section 246 of the Kentucky Constitution: constitutional salary bases discussed by the AG.
Source
Original opinion text
OAG 94-7
February 11, 1994
Hon. Bruce Ferguson, Commissioner
Department of Local Government
1024 Capital Center Drive
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601-8204
Re: Maximum 1994 Compensation of State, County, and City Constitutional Officers - Accuracy of Consumer Price Index Salary Adjustment Computations.
Dear Commissioner Ferguson:
By letter of February 3, 1994, 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 1993 was given by OAG 93-21.
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 13, 1994, establishes the CPI as of December, 1993, for "all items" as being 436.8. The CPI for 1949 was 71.4.
We believe the computations shown in your letter of February 3, 1994 are accurate, and accurately reflect the maximum annual compensation allowable by law for the year 1994, 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 1994 is $44,047.06, as determined by the following formula:
436.8/71.4 (Current CPI in terms of 1949) = X /$ 7,200
71.4X = 436.8 X $7,200
71.4X = $ 3,144,960
X = $ 44,047.06 (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 1994 is $73,411.76, as determined by the following formula:
436.8/71.4 (Current CPI in terms of 1949) = X /$12,000
71.4X = 436.8 X $12,000
71.4X = $ 5,241,600
X = $ 73,411.76 (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 1994 is $44,047.06, as determined by the following formula:
436.8 /71.4 (Current CPI in terms of 1949) = X /$ 7,200
71.4X = 436.8 X $7,200
71.4X = $ 3,144,960
X = $ 44,047.06 (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 1994 is $73,411.76, as determined by the following computation:
436.8 /71.4 (Current CPI in terms of 1949) = X /$12,000
71.4X = 436.8 X $12,000
71.4X = $ 5,241,600
X = $ 73,411.76 (Rounded)
Governor
The Department of Local Government has computed the maximum compensation of the Governor for 1994 as $86,352.55, 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 1994. The CPI announced in January, 1984, was 303.5, and that announced in January, 1994, 436.8. Accordingly, the Department determined the maximum salary of the Governor for 1994 by the following formula:
436.8 /303.5 (Current CPI in terms of 1949) = X /$60,000
303.5X = 436.8 X $60,000
303.5X = $ 26,208,000
X = $ 86,352.55 (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), for 1994, based upon the following formula:
436.8 /71.4 (Current CPI in terms of 1949) = X $12,000
71.4X = 436.8 X $12,000
71.4X = $ 5,241,600
X = $ 73,411.76 (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 1994, for prosecutorial duties, as $44,047.06, based upon the following formula:
436.871.4 (Current CPI in terms of 1949) = X /$ 7,200
71.4X = 436.8 X $7,200
71.4X = $ 3,144,960
X = $ 44,047.06 (Rounded)
Commonwealth's Attorney
Pursuant to KRS 15.755(7), the maximum annual compensation possible for full-time Commonwealth's Attorneys for 1994 is $73,411.76 which is based upon the following formula:
436.8 /71.4(Current CPI in terms of 1949) = X /$12,000
71.4X = 436.8 X $12,000
71.4X = $ 5,241,600
X = $ 73,411.76 (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 $44,047.06 for 1994.
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 3, 1994, in view of related legal considerations. We believe the maximum compensation levels computed for 1994 for the positions indicated in your letter are accurate and proper from a legal perspective based upon the data supplied.
Application of the maximums shown herein for state constitutional officers may be affected by the state budget enactment of the 1992 Kentucky General Assembly (See the executive branch budget, Acts, 1992, ch. 462, part IV (H.B. 468), KRS ch. 47, Appendix A, part IV).
Sincerely,
CHRIS GORMAN
ATTORNEY GENERAL
Gerard R. Gerhard
Assistant Attorney General
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