TCA § 68-221-1305 — Appointment of commissioners — Members — Election of officers — Jurisdiction

The governing body of the authority shall be a board of commissioners appointed by the executive officer of the creating governmental entity and approved by its governing body. The board of commissioners shall include a person of good standing and reputation. If there are one (1) or more participating governmental entities, one (1) member of the board shall be appointed by the executive officer of each participating governmental entity and approved by its governing body, giving the board a total membership equal to the number of participating governmental entities. Commissioners first appointed to the board shall be appointed for terms of one (1), two (2), three (3), four (4) and five (5) years, respectively, but thereafter each commissioner shall be appointed for a term of five (5) years. If a board has more than five (5) members, each additional member shall be appointed for a term of five (5) years. A commissioner may be reappointed at the end of that commissioner's term. Any vacancy by reason of nonresidence, incapacity, resignation or death shall be filled in like manner for the unexpired term. A commissioner's term shall continue until the appointment and qualification of that commissioner's successor. A commissioner may be removed from office by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the governing body of the governmental entity that approved the commissioner's appointment, but only after notice of the cause of the removal is served on the commissioner, and only after the commissioner is granted an opportunity for a public hearing on the cause. The board shall elect from among its members a chair and vice chair, each of whom shall continue to be voting members, and shall adopt its own bylaws and rules of procedure. The presence of commissioners having a majority of the voting strength of the commissioners shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Except as expressly otherwise specified in this part, all powers granted in this part to an authority shall be exercised by the board. Commissioners may receive compensation and shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties. An authority shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the water and wastewater financing board in accordance with this chapter; provided, however, that the environmental statutes in titles 68 and 69 currently administered by the department of environment and conservation shall apply to the activities of the authority in the same manner as those statutes would apply to the activities of any local government. All members of the board shall, within one (1) year of initial appointment or election to the board of commissioners or within one (1) year of reappointment or reelection to the board of commissioners, attend a minimum of twelve (12) hours of training and continuing education in one (1) or more of the subjects listed in subdivision (f)(3). In each continuing education period after the initial training and continuing education required by subdivision (f)(1), a board member shall attend a minimum of twelve (12) hours of training and continuing education in one (1) or more of the subjects listed in subdivision (f)(3). For the purposes of this subsection (f), “continuing education period” means a period of three (3) years beginning January 1 after the calendar year in which a board member completes the training and continuing education requirements set forth in subdivision (f)(1) and each succeeding three-year period thereafter. The subjects for the training and continuing education required by this subsection (f) shall include, but not be limited to, board governance, financial oversight, policy-making responsibilities, and other topics reasonably related to the duties of the members of the board of commissioners of an authority. Any association or organization with appropriate knowledge and experience may prepare a training and continuing education curriculum for board members covering the subjects set forth in subdivision (f)(3) to be submitted to the comptroller of the treasury for review and approval prior to use. The comptroller shall file a copy of approved training and continuing education curriculum with the water and wastewater financing board. Changes and updates to the curriculum shall be submitted to the comptroller for approval prior to use. Any training and continuing education curriculum approved by the comptroller shall be updated every three (3) years and resubmitted to the comptroller for review and approval. For purposes of this subsection (f), a board member may request a training and continuing education extension of up to six (6) months from the comptroller of the treasury or the comptroller's designee. The request shall only be granted upon a reasonable showing of substantial compliance with this subsection (f). If the extension is granted, the board member must complete any additional required training hours necessary to achieve full compliance for only the relevant continuing education period within the extension period. The board member shall file copies of any extension request letters and corresponding comptroller of the treasury determination letters with the water and wastewater financing board. If any member of the board fails to meet the training and continuing education requirements set forth in subsection (f) before the end of the continuing education period or before the end of any extension approved by the comptroller of the treasury or the comptroller's designee, then such member shall not be eligible for reappointment or reelection to another term of office.