Kansas Attorney General Opinion 2017-013

September 15, 2017
ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 2017- 13
Eric R. Yost
Sedgwick County Counselor
525 North Main, Suite 359
Wichita, KS 67203-3731
Re: 	Cities and Municipalities—Governmental Organization—Consolidation of
Fire Districts and Fire Departments; Initiation of Procedure
Cities and Municipalities—Governmental Organization—Consolidation of
Fire Districts and Fire Departments; Procedure; Resolution; Publication;
Election, When; Effective Date
Cities and Municipalities—Governmental Organization—Consolidation of
Fire Districts and Fire Departments; Transfer of Property; Payment of
Outstanding Indebtedness; Transfer of Debt Service Fund
Cities and Municipalities—Governmental Organization—Consolidation of
Fire Districts and Fire Departments; Outstanding Indebtedness; Tax Levy
for Payment Of
Synopsis: 	Fire districts organized under K.S.A. 19-3601 et seq. may be consolidated
under the statutory scheme provided by 	K.S.A. 12-3910 	et 	seq. 	An
election pursuant to K.S.A. 2016 Supp. 12-3913(a) shall be held within 90
days. K.S.A. 2016 Supp. 12-3913 provides a specific grant of authority for
the board of county commissioners to dissolve the fire districts being
consolidated. The board of county commissioners is not mandated to
apply the same tax twice on citizens to provide for the payment of
outstanding 	indebtedness 	of 	a 	fire 	district 	being 	consolidated. 	Fire
“districts” and “departments” are interchangeable terms in at least two
places within K.S.A. 19-3601 et seq. Cited herein: 	K.S.A. 10-120; 12-
3910; 12-3911; K.S.A. 2016 Supp. 12-3913; 12-3916; K.S.A. 12-3917.

Eric R. Yost
Page 2
* 	* 	*
Dear Mr. Yost:
As County Counselor for Sedgwick County (County), you ask our opinion on several
matters related to the consolidation of fire districts and fire departments under K.S.A.
12-3910, et seq. Specifically, you ask: 	(1) whether the bond election statute found at
K.S.A. 10-120 supersedes the election requirements found at K.S.A. 2016 Supp. 12-
3913; (2) if a board of county commissioners may dissolve or disorganize a fire district
by resolution if the district is being consolidated pursuant to K.S.A. 12-3910 et seq.; (3)
whether a fire district must levy additional taxes before transferring its outstanding
obligations to a newly created consolidated district; and (4) if specific duties for a city
fire department prior to consolidation may be implied.
In your request for an opinion, you explained that Sedgwick County Fire District No. 1 is
considering consolidating with the City of Wichita Fire Department and the City of Derby
Fire Department. You note that K.S.A. 12-3910 et seq. provides for the consolidation of
fire districts and fire departments but that various other statutes potentially conflict with
the procedures set out therein.1 We will answer each question in turn.
Elections
K.S.A. 12-3910 et seq. governs the consolidation of various county fire districts and city
fire departments.2 The governing bodies of two or more fire districts or fire departments
may request the board of county commissioners pass a resolution to consolidate those
districts or departments into a consolidated fire district.3 The resolution creating a
consolidated fire district must be published at least once each week for two consecutive
weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the area subject to the proposed
consolidation. 4
If at least five percent (5%) of the registered voters residing within each of the areas
proposed to be consolidated sign and file with the county election officer a petition
opposing the consolidation, the board of county commissioners must call and hold an
election within the areas proposed to be consolidated within 90 days after the filing of
the petition. 5 The election must be “called and held . . . in the manner provided for the
calling and holding of elections under the general bond law.”6
1 Correspondence, Eric R. Yost, April 14, 2017.
2 K.S.A. 12-3910.
3 K.S.A. 12-3911.
4 K.S.A. 2016 Supp. 12-3913(a).
5 Id.
6 Id.

Eric R. Yost
Page 3
We agree that K.S.A. 10-120 provides the manner for calling and holding elections
under the general bond law. In your request for an opinion, you correctly note that
K.S.A. 10-120 mandates an election required for the issuance of bonds to “be held
within 45 days after compliance with the necessary [legal] requirements,” unless a
general election is scheduled within an additional 45 days of that deadline, in which
case the bond election may be held at the same time.7
It is, however, a common rule of statutory construction that “a specific statute controls
over a general statute.”8 Where, as here, the Legislature provided a specific deadline for
calling and holding an election following the filing of a sufficient petition in opposition to
the proposed consolidation of fire districts and fire departments, it is clear that deadline
controls over the deadline provided in the general bond statute the Legislature invoked
for other requirements related to the calling and holding of the election. In other words,
the 90 day deadline provided in K.S.A. 2016 Supp. 12-3913(a) applies to elections held
under that statute.
Dissolution
K.S.A. 2016 Supp. 12-3913(b) provides a specific grant of authority for the board of
county commissioners to dissolve the fire districts being consolidated: 	“[a]ny resolution
creating a consolidated fire district shall provide for the dissolution or disorganization of
the 	fire 	districts 	as 	they 	existed 	prior 	to 	the 	effective 	date 	of 	the 	creation 	of 	a
consolidated fire district.”9 Although you are correct that K.S.A. 19-3601 et seq. requires
the board of county commissioners to consider the advisability of disorganizing a fire
district upon a sufficient petition of affected landowners, 10 we can find no authority and
deduce no reason to view K.S.A. 19-3604 as a limitation on the specific grant of
authority provided by the Legislature in K.S.A. 2016 Supp. 12-3913(b).
Debt Obligations of Fire Districts
K.S.A. 12-3917 requires the board of county commissioners to “provide for the payment
of [a fire district’s outstanding indebtedness] by providing for the levying of taxes upon
all the property in that district prior to the consolidation with another district.” In your
request for an opinion, you note it would be inequitable to tax citizens twice for the same
obligation and unwieldy to get rid of an existing tax only to re-levy the tax for the
purpose of consolidation if the fire district has already levied a tax to provide for the
payment of indebtedness.
We do not believe the Legislature intended for the board of county commissioners to tax
citizens twice for the same obligation. We do, however, see in the plain text of the
7 K.S.A. 10-120.
8 E.g., Sierra Club v. Moser, 298 Kan. 22, 54 (2013).
9 K.S.A. 2016 Supp. 12-3913(b).
10 K.S.A. 19-3604.

Eric R. Yost
Page 4
statute the Legislature’s intent that the debt obligations of one fire district not be
assumed by the citizens of other districts being consolidated. To that end, the board of
county commissioners would not need to “provide for the payment of . . . outstanding
indebtedness” 	if 	it 	has 	already 	been 	provided 	for 	by 	the 	district 	that 	is 	being
consolidated. For example, you correctly note K.S.A. 2016 Supp. 12-3916 anticipates a
fire district may have a debt service fund in place that may be transferred to the
consolidated district. The question of whether any particular indebtedness has been
“provide[d] for,” however, is a question of fact we cannot answer.
Debt Obligations of Fire Departments
Lastly, you note that K.S.A. 2016 Supp. 12-3916(a) refers to “departments” (as in city
fire departments) while K.S.A. 2016 Supp. 12-3916(b) refers to “districts” (as in Chapter
19 fire districts). In its entirety, the statute reads:
(a) 	Subject 	to 	the 	provisions 	of 	subsection 	(b), 	the 	books, 	papers,
equipment 	and 	other 	real 	and 	personal 	property 	belonging 	to 	the
departments consolidated pursuant to this act shall be transferred to and
shall become the property of the consolidated district, subject to any
debts, leases or other obligations that encumber such property.
(b) All funds in the treasury of any such fire district on the effective date of
consolidation 	may 	be 	applied 	to 	the 	payment 	of 	any 	outstanding
indebtedness, including bonded indebtedness, of such fire district, and
may be transferred to the treasury of the newly created consolidated fire
district as determined by the board of county commissioners. Any debt
service fund of such fire district at the time of consolidation may be
transferred to the newly created consolidated fire district. Any money
transferred from the debt service fund of the fire district shall be credited to
a debt service fund in the newly created consolidated fire district. The debt
service fund of the newly created consolidated fire district shall be kept
separate from any other debt service fund.
Because subsection (b) is described in subsection (a) as a qualification on the grant of
authority provided in subsection (a), we believe the use of the word “departments” may
reasonably be read to include both fire districts and fire departments. We note at least
one other occurrence of the converse, where “districts” clearly refers to both fire districts
and fire departments, in K.S.A. 12-3911.
Consequently, we believe the provision for transferring property to the consolidated fire
district 	in 	K.S.A. 	2016 	Supp. 	12-3916(a) 	applies 	to 	both 	fire 	districts 	and 	fire
departments being consolidated.

Eric R. Yost
Page 5
Sincerely,
Derek Schmidt
Kansas Attorney General
Craig Paschang
Assistant Attorney General
DS:AA:CP:sb