(A) Definitions. The following definitions shall be in effect in the application of this section unless context indicates otherwise.
EMERGENCY INTERIM SUCCESSOR. A person designated by this section to assume and exercise the powers and discharge the duties of an officer or official upon the unavailability of that officer or official to do so in a state of emergency. The tenure of the EMERGENCY INTERIM SUCCESSOR shall continue until a successor is legally appointed or elected, or until the lawful incumbent is able to resume the exercise of the powers and discharge of the duties of the office.
OFFICE. Includes all local offices, including the duties and powers thereof, as established by law.
OFFICER. The individual that lawfully holds an office.
STATE OF EMERGENCY. A condition resulting from any incident or situation, whether natural or manmade, that poses a major threat to public safety so as to cause, or threaten to cause, loss of life, serious injury, significant damage to property, or major harm to public health or the environment.
UNAVAILABLE. Means that during a state of emergency either:
(a) A vacancy in office exists and there is no deputy authorized to exercise all of the powers and discharge all of the duties of the office; or
(b) The lawful incumbent of the office and any duly authorized deputy are absent or unable to exercise all of the powers and discharge all of the duties of the office.
(B) Scope. This section describes and sets forth procedures for addressing three types of disruptive situations:
(1) Loss of use of a governmental facility (i.e., damage to a building or essential infrastructure, and the like);
(2) The absence or inability to function of an elected official;
(3) The loss of available services due to equipment or systems damage or failure (i.e., information technology (IT) systems failure, and the like).
(C) Alternate facilities plan.
(1) In the event that a county governmental facility becomes damaged or otherwise unable to house or adequately support the operation of any or all government office functions normally in that facility, the office(s) affected, or a portion thereof, may move to another suitable facility until the normal facility is again usable or until other, longer-term plans are made.
(a) Tentative plans and suggestions for suitable facilities are delineated herein.
(b) County officers are encouraged to further develop plans for how their operations could be quickly moved into one of these facilities and services resumed, including pre-planning of space utilization, moving procedures, backup of equipment, and the like.
(c) Governmental offices and operations shall resume in their original location as soon as it is practical for them to do so.
(2) The situation will dictate circumstances in which replacement facilities should be sought; in general, when an administrative function would be interrupted for more than two business days or in a public-safety function for more than two hours, this plan shall be activated. If there is a county-wide disaster or emergency, then immediate implementation of the plan shall begin. For administrative functions, at least basic operations shall be re-established in 12 hours or less, if at all possible.
(3) The facilities listed below assume that limited disruption has occurred; i.e., that only one building or one office in a building needs to find new quarters. If a larger-scale disruption occurs, then only partial allocation of available space may be possible.
(4) Also, in general, the listings below are in order of preference for each office and the order in which temporary facilities should be sought in the event the need arises.
(5) The following delineates the suitable alternate facilities to be utilized if needed in the course of a state of emergency:
(a) County Courthouse (Judge-Executive’s Office, Fiscal Court, Treasurer’s Office, County Clerk's Office, County Attorney's Office, Coroner's Office, County Sheriffs Office):
1. County Emergency Management Complex;
2. County Public Safety Annex;
3. County Rescue Headquarters;
4. County Emergency Operations Center;
5. Reidland/Farley Fire Department Station #2;
6. West McCracken Fire Department;
7. Kentucky State Police Post 1.
(b) County Jail (Jailer’s office). There is no backup, secure facility suitable to house prisoners in county. The Jailer will contact Kentucky Department of Corrections and transport all inmates to a correctional facility that is able to house them. The Jailer’s administrative functions could be temporarily moved to coincide with the movement of prisoners.
(D) Continuity of governmental leadership plans.
(1) State law provides for the interim appointment and the eventual replacement election for an elected official who becomes permanently unavailable, such as through death or permanent incapacity.
(2) However, there may be need for a rapid temporary replacement process for an official who is unavailable during an emergency event.
(3) KRS 39D.030 and KRS 39D.040 direct local governing bodies to enact ordinances or orders for the prompt filling of offices and employees during times of disaster and emergency, if the filling of these vacancies is not otherwise provided for by law.
(a) State law directs that not fewer than three, nor more than seven interim successors for each position be designated.
(b) Emergency interim successors, in the order of their succession as listed below, shall have the full power to exercise all powers and discharge all duties of the office, and to commit its resources during a time of emergency or disaster, if the person normally exercising the position is unavailable, but shall immediately relinquish such power if the person normally exercising the position again becomes available.
(c) If the preceding emergency successor becomes available, he or she shall resume the duties being performed by the following successor, unless he or she chooses to permit the following successor to remain in the position until relieved.
(4) In other, non-emergency but urgent situations, when the officer may be out of town but available for consultation or having left advance directives, a duly authorized deputy may exercise the authority of the office to an extent limited by the office holder.
(5) The county officials listed below may, of their own accord or at the request of the Judge-Executive, provide to the office of the Judge-Executive a list of planned successors as outlined above, which shall be kept on file in that office in case the office holder becomes unavailable.
(a) A list so filed may be modified at any time by the county official, in his or her sole discretion.
(b) Alternatively, if a county official has not provided such a list, then the default listing set forth below shall control.
(c) In either event, it shall be the duty of the county official to ensure that his or her potential successors have taken the appropriate oath for the office to which they might succeed.
(6) The following gives the default listing of planned, emergency, interim successors, in order, if the elected official becomes disabled or absent during a declared emergency or disaster event.
(a) County Judge-Executive.
1. The Deputy Judge -Executive.
2. The Commissioner who has served the longest on the Fiscal Court. If more than one Commissioner has served an identical longest length, then the one who received the largest number of votes at the last election in which both were candidates shall be the first successor, and the other the second.
3. The Commissioner who has served the second longest on the Fiscal Court.
4. The Commissioner who has served the third longest on the Fiscal Court.
(b) Members of the Fiscal Court of County (Commissioners).
1. County Judge-Executive.
2. In the event the Judge-Executive is unavailable, then this succession shall follow the same plan as set forth above.
(c) County Treasurer.
1. The Deputy Treasurer.
2. The County Judge-Executive or his or her designee.
3. In the event that both the Deputy Treasurer and the Judge-Executive are unavailable, then this succession shall follow the same plan as set forth above.
(d) County PVA.
1. The Chief Deputy PVA.
2. The Assistant Chief Deputy PVA.
3. The Deputy PVA having served the longest in that role.
(e) County Clerk.
1. The Chief Deputy County Clerk.
2. The Assistant Chief Deputy County Clerk.
3. The Deputy County Clerk having served the longest in that role.
(f) County Sheriff:
1. The Chief Deputy Sheriff
2. The Assistant Chief Deputy Sheriff, or, if no Assistant Chief Deputy Sheriff has been appointed by the Sheriff, the next highest-ranking Deputy Sheriff. If there are two or more Deputies holding the next highest rank, then the Deputy Sheriff having served the longest in that role.
3. The next highest-ranking Deputy Sheriff, or, if there are two or more Deputies holding the next highest rank, then the Deputy Sheriff having served the longest in that role.
(g) County Jailer.
1. The first Chief Deputy Jailer.
2. The second Chief Deputy Jailer.
3. The next highest-ranking Deputy Jailer, or, if there is no further ranking delineation, then the Deputy Jailer having served longest in that role.
(h) County Coroner.
1. The Chief Deputy Coroner.
2. The next highest-ranking Deputy Coroner, or, if there is no Deputy Coroner available to act as emergency interim successor, the County Sheriff or his or her designee shall so act.
3. In the event the Sheriff is unavailable, then this succession shall follow the same plan as set forth above for the office of the Sheriff.
(i) County Road Supervisor.
1. The Assistant Road Supervisor.
2. The Road Department Head Mechanic.
3. The County Judge-Executive or his or her designee.
(j) County Attorney.
1. The first Assistant County Attorney.
2. The second Assistant County Attorney.
3. The third Assistant County Attorney, or, if there is no third or subsequent Assistant County Attorney, the Commonwealth’s attorney for the judicial circuit shall so act.
(Ord. 2018-07, passed 11-5-2018)
Cross-reference:
Office of emergency management, see § 31.02