§9039.15. Board of supervisors; members and meetings

A.(1) The board of the district shall exercise the powers granted to the district pursuant to this Chapter. Except as otherwise provided in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, the board shall consist of five members. Except as otherwise provided in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, each member shall hold office for a term of four years and until a successor is chosen and qualifies. Except as otherwise provided in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, the initial members of the board shall be residents of the state, and at least one of the initial members shall be a resident of the area immediately adjacent to the district.

(2) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, such a district located within Jefferson Parish shall be governed by a board of supervisors that consists of eight members, all of whom shall be residents of Jefferson Parish. Each council member and the Parish President shall appoint one member, including initial members and their successors, and those members shall serve at the pleasure of the Jefferson Parish Council and the Parish President.

B.(1)(a) Except as provided in Paragraph (A)(2) of this Section, commencing six years after the initial appointment of members, the position of each member whose term has expired shall be filled by a qualified elector of the district elected by the qualified electors of the district in accordance with Title 18 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 or, if there are no qualified electors of the district, a qualified elector of the parish or municipality that created the district.

(b) However, in districts consisting of a population of less than six hundred persons, the governing authority of the parish or municipality that created the district shall appoint the members of the board.

(2) Members of the board shall be known as supervisors and, upon entering into office, shall take an oath of office. Except as provided in Paragraph (A)(2) of this Section, 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.

(3) 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.

(4) As soon as practicable after each election or appointment of members for a new four-year term, the board shall organize by electing one 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.

(5) The board shall keep a permanent record book in which shall be recorded minutes of all meetings, resolutions, ordinances, proceedings, and any and all corporate acts. The record book shall be opened to inspection in accordance with R.S. 44:31 et seq.

(6) Each supervisor shall be entitled to receive for his or her services a per diem not to exceed seventy-five dollars per meeting and such travel expenses as may be authorized in the bylaws of the district.

(7) All meetings of the board shall be conducted in accordance with R.S. 42:11 et seq.

C. In any parish or municipality which operates under a home rule charter which provides for the governing authority of any special district lying wholly within the parish or municipality, such charter provisions shall supersede the provisions of this Chapter relating to the membership of the board.

Acts 2001, No. 992, §1; Acts 2007, No. 311, §1; Acts 2008, No. 888, §1.