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Commissioners told law offers no clear path to reinstate constables; item proposed to be removed from agenda
Summary
The board discussed whether the county can reinstate constables after a 2012 resolution abolished the office; the county law director and CTAS said state statute provides no mechanism for reinstatement, and a commissioner moved to strike the item from the agenda.
Sumner County commissioners discussed the legal barriers to restoring county constables on Jan. 13, concluding during debate that state law and prior county action leave no obvious path to reinstate the office.
The matter arose after the county’s audit records found a Dec. 19, 2012 county resolution that abolished the office of constable at the end of then-officers’ terms. The law director told commissioners that subsequent changes in state statute moved constables from constitutional to statutory status and gave counties a mechanism to remove constables but did not provide a mechanism to reinstate them.
"Within all of the statute, it not once does it have a provision to reinstate constables," the law director said during the meeting. The county had sought input from CTAS, which similarly told commissioners it did not see a legal pathway to restore the office.
Commissioner Shultz said he was not opposed in principle to having constables but argued that the county needs a "compelling need" and expressed concern about creating new authority without statutory guidance. After the law director’s comments Commissioner Shultz said, "Unless we have a compelling need...I'm gonna move to strike it," referring to the agenda item to consider reinstatement.
The transcript records a motion to strike the item but does not record a formal roll-call vote adopting that motion. Commissioners deferred to the law director for any further legal work on the topic.
Why it matters: reinstating a local law-enforcement office would change how certain duties are assigned and has legal and budgetary implications. Commissioners sought clarity from the law director and CTAS before pursuing any further action.
