173.310 Methods by which library service may be provided -- Appropriation or levy on establishment. Any governmental unit may provide library service for its inhabitants according to any one (1) of the following methods: (1) The legislative body on its own initiative may establish an independent library. (2) Upon receipt of a petition signed by a number of taxpayers equal to five percent (5%) of the number of votes cast for officers in the last general election of such governmental unit, the legislative body shall submit the question to a vote at the next general election by submitting the question to the county clerk not later than the second Tuesday in August preceding the general election. If a majority of those voting on the question vote in favor of the proposition, the legislative body shall forthwith establish a library, except as provided in subsection (4) of this section. (3) The legislative bodies of two (2) or more adjacent counties may on their own initiative, or upon a petition and vote in each county as provided in subsection (2) above, or upon the initiative of some legislative bodies and petition and vote in others, join in establishing and maintaining a regional library, provided the aggregate assessed valuation of the property assessable for local taxation in such counties is a minimum of $10,000,000, and subject to the provisions of KRS 173.320. (4) The legislative body of any governmental unit may on its own initiative contract to receive service from an existing nearby library, the library of a nearby institution of higher learning, the State Department for Libraries and Archives, or from a nearby library not owned by a governmental unit but which provides free service, each of these having reciprocal power to render the service. In the event of a petition and vote as provided by subsection (2), a legislative body shall have the privilege of providing library service by contract in lieu of establishing an independent library. When any one (1) of the above methods has been complied with, the legislative bodies of the governing units shall at once make the necessary appropriation or levy to establish and maintain such library service annually and perpetually. Effective: July 15, 1996 History: Amended 1996 Ky. Acts ch. 195, sec. 62, effective July 15, 1996. -- Amended 1960 Ky. Acts ch. 61, sec. 1, effective June 16, 1960. -- Created 1944 Ky. Acts ch. 160, sec. 2.