19-31-9 - Board of directors; membership; terms; oath of office; filling of vacancy; quorum; officers; minutes; compensation.
§ 19-31-9. Board of directors; membership; terms; oath of office; filling of vacancy; quorum; officers; minutes; compensation.
(1) The board of the district shall exercise the powers granted to the district pursuant to this chapter. The board shall consist of five (5) members as otherwise provided in this section. Each member shall hold office for a term of four (4) years and until a successor is chosen and qualifies. The initial members of the board shall be residents of the state and at least one (1) of the initial members shall be a resident of the area immediately adjacent to the district.
(2) Beginning four (4) years after the initial appointment of members, the position of each member whose term has expired shall be filled by a qualified voter of the district, elected by the qualified voters of the district. There shall be an election of members every four (4) years on the first Tuesday in November at a qualified voters' meeting. Notice of the election shall be announced at a public meeting of the board at least ninety (90) days before the date of the qualified voters' meeting and shall be published once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a newspaper which is in general circulation in the area of the district, the last day of such publication to be not fewer than fourteen (14) days nor more than twenty-eight (28) days before the election. In addition, notice of the election shall be sent by first-class mail to all qualified voters at their last known address as shown on the tax rolls. Instructions on how all qualified voters may participate in the election, along with sample proxies, shall be provided during the board meeting that announces the qualified voters' meeting, and the location, date and time of the qualified voters' meeting shall be included on all instructions and notices. Each qualified voter shall be entitled to cast one (1) vote. A qualified voter may vote in person or by proxy in writing. Each proxy must be signed by one (1) of the qualified voters for which the vote is cast and must contain the typed or printed name of the individual who signed the proxy; the street address, legal description of the property, or tax parcel identification number; and the number of authorized votes. The signature on a proxy need not be notarized. For purposes of this subsection (2), the term "qualified voter" shall mean any landowner or an authorized representative thereof.
(3) Members of the board shall be known as directors and, upon entering into office, shall take an oath of office. They shall hold office for the terms for which they were elected or appointed and until their successors are chosen and qualified. If during the term of office, a vacancy occurs, the remaining members of the board shall fill the vacancy by an appointment for the remainder of the unexpired term.
(4) A majority of the members of the board constitutes a quorum for the purposes of conducting its business and exercising its powers and for all other purposes. Action taken by the district shall be upon a vote of a majority of the members present unless general law or a rule of the district requires a greater number.
(5) As soon as practicable after each election or appointment, the board shall organize by electing one (1) of its members as chair and by electing a secretary, who need not be a member of the board, and such other officers as the board may deem necessary.
(6) The board shall keep a permanent minute book in which shall be recorded minutes of all meetings, resolutions, ordinances, proceedings and all corporate acts.
(7) Members of the board may receive per diem compensation for services in an amount as provided under Section 25-3-69, and shall be entitled to expenses necessarily incurred in the discharge of their duties in accordance with Section 25-3-41. Any payments for compensation and expenses shall be paid from funds of the district.
Sources: Laws, 2002, ch. 499, § 5; Laws, 2008, ch. 463, § 1, eff July 9, 2008 (the date the United States Attorney General interposed no objection under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, to the amendment of this section.)