Kentucky Revised Statutes

Ky. Rev. Stat. § 78.405 (2026)

Powers of counties to create police force merit system -- Appropriations

✓ current as of May 2026
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(1) Any county of the Commonwealth of Kentucky may, by order of its fiscal court, duly made and entered of record, create a county police force merit system, and for that purpose, establish a county police force merit board, whose duties it shall be to classify and examine applicants seeking employment as officers or employees of the police force of the said county, and in addition thereto to promulgate rules and regulations not inconsistent with KRS 78.400 to 78.480 and 78.990 governing the classification, qualification, examination, appointment, probation, promotion, demotion, fine, suspension and other disciplinary action within the said county police force of all personnel of the county police force or forces affected and covered by KRS 78.400 to 78.460 and 78.990, and in addition thereto, to hold such hearings, public and executive, and impose such penalties upon the personnel affected by KRS 78.400 to 78.460 and 78.990. (2) Fiscal courts affected hereby shall make appropriations of money for the reasonable and necessary expenses of the said board. Effective: July 15, 1988 History: Amended 1988 Ky. Acts ch. 319, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1988. -- Amended 1962 Ky. Acts ch. 280, sec. 2. -- Created 1952 Ky. Acts ch. 141, sec. 2(1) and (7).

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases, 1988–2001 · leading case: Brown v. Jefferson Cnty. Police Merit Bd., 751 S.W.2d 23 (Ky. 1988).
Brown v. Jefferson Cnty. Police Merit Bd., 751 S.W.2d 23 (Ky. 1988). “KRS 78.405, in pertinent part, authorizes the Merit Board “to promulgate rules and regulations governing the classification, qualification, examination, appointment, promotion, demotion, fine, suspension and other disciplinary action within the said county police force of all…”
Friedman v. Armstrong, 59 S.W.3d 875 (Ky. 2001). “, KRS 78.405 which, in providing for the establishment of county police merit boards, vests the chief of police with the authority to overturn personnel decisions, subject to judicial review.”
Fiscal Court of Taylor Cnty. v. Taylor Cnty. Metro Police, 805 S.W.2d 113 (Ky. 1991). · cites it 2× “KRS 78.405. All went well with the county police force until mid-1987, with the Fiscal Court providing all its necessary operating expenses.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.