given in November

People interested in running for Property Valuation Administrator (PVA) in Kentucky counties next year can take the required examination to qualify next month in Lawrenceburg, according to a press release issued last week by the Kentucky Department of Revenue.

The exam will be given at 8 a.m. local time on Friday, November 8 at Eagle Lake Convention Center, located at 1000 Eagle Lake Drive in Lawrenceburg.

Applicants who qualify by passing this examination will be eligible to seek election in the 2014 May primary and November general elections.

Only two county offices require an examination for eligibility to serve, those being PVA and Circuit Court Clerks.

Kentucky Revised Statute 132.380(1) states in part: “Before any person’s name shall appear before the voters on election day as a candidate for the office of property valuation administrator in any primary or general election, except as a candidate to succeed himself in office…he shall hold a certificate issued by the department, showing that he has been examined by it and that he is qualified for the office.”

Clinton County Property Valuation Administrator Pat Campbell, who passed the exam a few years ago, won the seat in the 2010 May primary and general election. The seat had become vacant after the retirement of long-time PVA Billy Joe Coop. James “Jim” Pennycuff was appointed to fill Coop’s unexpired term and served briefly as PVA until the election.

KRS 132.370(2) states in part: “Property Valuation Administrators shall possess the qualifications required by Section 100 of the Constitution and by KRS 132.380 and shall be eligible for re-election.” This means setting PVAs in Kentucky do not have to “re-take” or pass the examination again to be eligible to seek re-election.

Section 100 of the Constitution of Kentucky requires that (PVA exam) applicants must be at least 24 years of age at the time of the election or appointment, a citizen of Kentucky, and have resided in the state for at least two years, and in the county at least one year preceding the election or appointment. Applicant identification will be required prior to taking the examination. A driver’s license or other ID with recent picture will be required as evidence of identification.

The examination is based on vocabulary, reading comprehension and mathematical questions. All materials necessary to take the examination, including calculators, are supplied. The maximum time limit for the written examination is three and one-half hours. All applicants will be notified of test results within two weeks.

A special examination of prospective candidates for PVA will be held for two counties–Daviess and Hart–where eligible residents who pass the test would be running for unexpired terms and would then be eligible to seek a full term in the 2014 election.

All local county offices, with the exception of Circuit Court Clerk–which the election for that six-year term was held last year–will appear on the local ballots next year in Clinton County.

Several district and judicial seats will also appear on the ballot, and next November, all city offices and a few school board seats will be on the ballot under non-partisan races.

Candidates for county office can begin filing sometime in November and have through the end of January 2014 to enter a race.