(A) Election; term of office. The Mayor of the city shall be elected by the voters of the city at a regular election. A candidate for Mayor shall be a resident of the city for not less than one year prior to his or her election. His or her term of office shall begin on January 1 following his or her election and shall be for four years and until his or her successor qualifies. If a person is elected or appointed as Mayor in response to a vacancy and serves less than four calendar years, then that period of service shall not be considered for purposes of re-election to a term of office.
(B) Qualifications. The Mayor shall be at least 21 years of age, shall be a qualified voter in the city, and shall reside in the city throughout his or her term of office.
(KRS 83A.040(1))
(C) Vacancy. If a vacancy occurs in the office of the Mayor, the City Council shall fill the vacancy within 30 days. If, for any reason, any vacancy in the office of Mayor is not filled within 30 days after it occurs, the Governor shall promptly fill the vacancy by appointment of a qualified person, who shall serve for the same period as if otherwise appointed.
(KRS 83A.040(2)(a)(g))
(1) When voting to fill a vacancy in the office of the Mayor, a member of the City Council shall not vote for himself or herself.
(KRS 83A.040(2)(c))
(2) When voting to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of the Mayor, the resigning Mayor shall not vote on his or her successor.
(KRS 83A.040(3))
(3) No vacancy by reason of a voluntary resignation in the office of the Mayor shall occur unless a written resignation which specifies the resignation date is tendered to the City Council. The resignation shall be effective at the next regular or special meeting of the City Council occurring after the date specified in the written letter of resignation.
(KRS 83A.040(7))
(4) If a vacancy occurs in the office of the Mayor, which is required by law to be filled temporarily by appointment, the City Council or the Governor, whichever is designated to make the appointment, shall immediately notify, in writing, both the County Clerk and the Secretary of State of the vacancy.
(KRS 83A.040(8))
(5) The City Council shall elect, from among its members, an individual to preside over meetings of the City Council during any vacancy in the office of the Mayor, in accordance with the provisions of KRS 83A.130 through 83A.150.
(KRS 83A.040(2)(d))
(D) Powers and duties.
(1) The executive authority of the city is hereby vested in and exercised by the Mayor. The Mayor shall enforce the Mayor-Council Plan, city ordinances and orders, and all applicable statutes.
(2) He or she shall supervise all departments of city government and the conduct of all city officers and employees under his or her jurisdiction and shall require each department to make reports to him or her as required by ordinance or as he or she deems desirable.
(3) The Mayor shall maintain liaison with related units of local government respecting inter-local contracting and joint activities.
(4) The Mayor shall report to the City Council and to the public on the condition and needs of city government as he or she finds appropriate or as required by ordinance, but not less than annually. He or she shall make any recommendations for actions by the City Council he or she finds in the public interest.
(KRS 83A.130(3))
(5) Subject to disapproval of the City Council, the Mayor shall promulgate procedures to ensure orderly administration of the functions of city government and compliance with statutes or ordinances. Upon promulgation or upon revision or rescission of the procedures, copies shall be filed with the person responsible for maintaining city records.
(KRS 83A.130(4))
(6) Any delegation of the Mayor’s power, duties, or responsibilities to subordinate officers and employees and any expression of his or her official authority to fulfill executive functions shall be made by executive order. Executive orders shall be sequentially numbered by years and kept in a permanent file.
(KRS 83A.130(7))
(7) All bonds, notes, contracts, and written obligations of the city shall be made and executed by the Mayor, or his or her agent designated by executive order.
(KRS 83A.130(8))
(8) The Mayor shall be the appointing authority, with power to appoint and remove all city employees, including police officers, except as tenure and terms of employment are protected by statute, ordinance, or contract, and except for employees of the City Council.
(KRS 83A.130(9))
(9) (a) The Mayor shall provide for the orderly continuation of the functions of city government at any time he or she is unable to attend to the duties of his or her office by delegating responsibility for any function to be performed, in accordance with division (D)(4) above.
(b) However, the Mayor may not delegate the responsibility of presiding at meetings of the City Council, and the authority to approve ordinances or promulgate administrative procedures may only be delegated to an elected officer. With approval of the City Council, the Mayor may rescind any action taken in his or her absence under division (D)(7) above within 30 days of the action.
(c) If for any reason the disability of the Mayor to attend to his or her duties persists for 60 consecutive days, the office of Mayor may be declared vacant by a majority vote of the City Council and the provisions of division (C) above shall apply.
(KRS 83A.130(10))
(E) Compensation.
(1) The salary for the office of Mayor, commencing with the term that begins January 2015, is hereby set and shall be $25,000 per year, payable as biweekly payments.
(2) The provisions are in accordance with the provisions of KRS 83A.075(1) the Department for Local Government calculates, by the second Friday in February of each year, the maximum allowable annual compensation of the mayor in cities of the first class, the mayor in cities other than the first class, and legislative body members.
(3) The Department’s calculations are 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, salary maximums set in the 1949 Amendment of Section 246 of Kentucky’s Constitution, to be paid to constitutional officers, are adjusted to reflect the current purchasing power of the dollar. The adjustments are based upon the Consumer Price Index maintained and reported by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
(4) The legislative body shall allow for the COLA to be adopted into the planning for each fiscal year’s budget planning, and take effect and be added to the Mayor’s salary and Council Pay upon passage and effective date of the budget each year. An exception is to be made for the 2022-2023 year, whereas the COLA increase will take effect upon a passage of a budget amendment this section.
(5) The city will provide a single plan for medical insurance for the Mayor, the same as available for employees.
(6) The Mayor will work a minimum of 35 hours per week, which may include time attending meetings or other obligations required by the duties of the office or the City Council.
(Ord. 7-2014, passed 4-26-2014; Ord. 07-2022, passed 10-17-2022)