Farris, 101717 KYAGO, OAG 17-23

• Case Date: October 17, 2017
• Court: Kentucky

Marc G. Farris AGO OAG 17-23 No. OAG 17-023 Kentucky Attorney General Opinions Commonwealth of Kentucky Office of The Attorney General October 17, 2017          Subject: Whether a mayor of an urban-county government can obligate county-owned property by consenting to registration of the property with the Kentucky Military Heritage Commission without first obtaining the authorization of the Urban County Council.          Requested by: Janet M. Graham Commissioner, Department of Law, Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government          Written by: Marc G. Farris          Syllabus: The mayor could not consent to the registration of the county's property as military heritage objects without the approval of the Urban County Council, the "appropriate governing body" of the county.          Statutes construed: KRS 67A.060; KRS 67A.070; KRS 67.080          OAGs cited: OAG 77-692           OPINION OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL          You have asked whether a mayor of an urban-county government— specifically, the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government ("LFUCG")—may obligate county property by consenting to the registration of the property as a military heritage object. For the reasons set forth below, we do not believe that a mayor has such authority under the LFUCG Charter and the express terms of the Military Heritage Commission Historic Military Sites and Objects Applications for Registration.          Background          We understand from your letter that in 2003, a private citizen nominated the General John Hunt Morgan and John C. Breckinridge Statues (the "Statues") for registration as military heritage objects by completing two Applications for Registration (the "Applications") and submitting them to the Kentucky Military Heritage Commission (the "Commission"). In accordance with the Commission's regulations, the Applications include a section for the governing entity of the "[p]ublic site/object owner" to indicate its consent to the designation of the site or object. That provision states, in part, that "[c]onsent to list the above described object/site on the Kentucky...