134.192 Annual settlement of tax collections by sheriff. (1) Each sheriff shall annually settle his or her accounts with the department, the county, and any district for which the sheriff collects taxes on or before September 1 of each year. If any sheriff resigns, dies, or otherwise vacates his or her office, the books and records shall be made available to the department, the county, and any other district for which the sheriff collects taxes within thirty (30) days from the date that the office is vacated. The annual settlement of the sheriff shall be audited in accordance with KRS 43.070 and 64.810. (2) (a) The department shall conduct the settlement relating to taxes collected for the state. (b) The sheriff shall settle his or her accounts with the county, the school district, and any other taxing district for which he or she collects taxes. On request of the governing body of the county or any other district for which the sheriff collects taxes, the department may conduct the local settlement. If no local settlement has been initiated by July 1 of any year, the department may initiate the local settlement on behalf of the county, the school district, and the taxing districts. Upon completion of the local settlement, the department may receive reasonable reimbursement for expenses incurred. (3) In making his or her settlement with the local governments and the department, the sheriff shall be allowed credit for the uncollected tax claims properly filed with the county clerk's office as required by KRS 134.122. (4) All tax bills on omitted property that were not turned over to the sheriff in time to be collected shall be carried over as a charge against the sheriff as part of the annual settlement. (5) The report of the state and local settlement shall be filed in the county clerk's office and approved by the governing body of the county no later than September 1 of each year. The settlement shall show the amount of ad valorem tax collected for the county, the school district, and all taxing districts, and an itemized statement of the money disbursed to or on behalf of the county, the school district, and all taxing districts. (6) The settlement shall be published pursuant to KRS Chapter 424. (7) On the final settlement, the sheriff shall pay to the county treasurer all money that remains in his or her hands attributable to amounts charged against the sheriff relating to the collection of property taxes, and shall take receipts as provided in KRS 134.160. The sheriff shall pay any additional amounts charged against him or her as a result of the settlements. (8) (a) If the sheriff fails to remit amounts charged against him or her to the appropriate taxing district, the department may issue bills for the subsequent year and may assume all collection duties in the name of and on behalf of the cities, counties, school districts, and other taxing districts. (b) The fees and commissions which the sheriff would have been entitled to receive from the taxing districts shall be paid to the department. (9) No tax bills or tax books shall be delivered to the sheriff during the second or any subsequent calendar year of the sheriff's regular term until the settlement is submitted and approved by the department and the governing body of a county, and until the sheriff's bond is in place, should a bond be required by the fiscal court. (10) If the tax records of a county are destroyed by fire, flood, tornado, or other act of nature, or are lost, stolen, or mutilated so as to require a reassessment of the property in the county or a recertification of the tax bills, the sheriff shall have five (5) months from the time he or she receives the recertified tax bills to make settlement pursuant to this section. (11) In counties containing a population of less than seventy thousand (70,000), the sheriff shall file annually with his or her settlement: (a) A complete statement of all funds received by his or her office for official services, showing separately the total income received by his or her office for services rendered, exclusive of his or her commissions for collecting taxes, and the total funds received as commissions for collecting state, county, and school taxes; and (b) A complete statement of all expenditures of his or her office, including his or her salary, compensation of deputies and assistants, and reasonable expenses. (12) At the time he or she files the statements required by subsection (11) of this section, the sheriff shall pay to the governing body of the county any fees, commissions, and other income of his or her office, including income from investments, which exceed the sum of his or her maximum salary as permitted by the Constitution and other reasonable expenses, including compensation of deputies and assistants. The settlement for excess fees and commissions and other income shall be subject to correction by audit conducted pursuant to KRS 43.070 or 64.810. The provisions of this subsection shall not be construed to amend KRS 64.820 or 64.830. (13) If a county's population that equaled or exceeded seventy thousand (70,000) is less than seventy thousand (70,000) after the most recent federal decennial census, then the provisions of KRS 64.368 shall apply. Effective: January 1, 2010 History: Created 2009 Ky. Acts ch. 10, sec. 22, effective January 1, 2010.