The City of Bonnieville’s voters narrowly decided to dissolve their city government on Election Day. The vote to dissolve the city was closely split, with 67 residents voting to dissolve and 60 voting to keep the city.

Bonnieville, founded in 1958, will become an unincorporated territory after 66 years. The small community in Hart County has a population of approximately 270 people. They are now left pondering what will happen to all city-owned assets.

“We’re making history,” Bonnieville Mayor Marie Whitlow told local media after the election. “Sad history, but we’re making history.”

This is the first vote from a city to dissolve itself since 2008. The last city in Kentucky to dissolve was the former City of Loan Oak in McCracken County. The former city of Blackey, now an unincorporated territory of Letcher County, petitioned to dissolve in 2022.

A 2022 Kentucky League of Cities initiative, Senate Bill 106, outlined how the Department for Local Government (DLG) will determine whether a city should be dissolved. The measure includes an appeals process by which a city or resident can challenge any DLG administrative proceeding.

Bonnieville will now cease to be an incorporated city 30 days after the certification of the election. Hart County will take control of the former city’s assets, such as city hall, and all elected officials’ terms will end the day the city is dissolved.

The city’s former streets will become county roads and all signage signifying the city will be removed. Former events may still occur, but no longer will carry the city’s name. The former city’s volunteer fire department will still function but will no longer have any city resources, such as grant funding from the city. Residents of the now unincorporated territory will continue to receive utilities such as water and electricity but will no longer have any city services to provide support.

With the dissolution of Bonnieville, the total number of Kentucky cities is now 409.