County seeks to trim districts

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February 10, 2009

Constables, justices of peace eyed in Greenup

Kenneth Hart/The Independent The Daily Independent Tue Feb 10, 2009, 11:45 PM EST

Greenup — The Greenup County Fiscal Court on Tuesday took the first step toward reducing the number of constables and justices of the peace elected in the county.

Officials approved first reading of an ordinance that will pare the number of constable and justice of the peace districts from seven to three. Those districts will coincide with the three commissioner districts.

If the ordinance receives final approval, the change would take effect when the terms of the current officeholders expire in 2010.

Judge-Executive Bobby Carpenter said there were a couple of reasons for making the change. One, he said, is financial. Trimming the number of districts will reduce election expenses because not as many different ballots will have to be printed, he said.

Also, the change will help cut down on voter confusion, Carpenter said.

Currently, six of the county’s seven constable positions are filled, but only three of the seven justice of the peace slots are occupied, he said.

Most counties in Kentucky took steps long ago to bring their constable and justice of the peace districts in line with their county commissioner or magisterial districts, Carpenter said.

“We’re just catching ourselves up,” he said. “If three commissioners can cover the whole county, three constables ought to be able to as well.’’

Constables are constitutional officeholders in Kentucky. They have the same countywide law enforcement powers as sheriffs but have no designated duties. In many counties, constables assist the sheriff by serving papers and providing security and traffic control at high school sporting events.

Justice of the peace is also an office designated by the Kentucky Constitution, but it is mostly a vestigial one. The only recognized authority of justices of the peace is the ability to perform marriages, but even that requires permission from the county judge-executive or the governor.

KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.

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