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.