A. Except as provided in Subsection B of this section, a metropolitan water board shall be composed of the following:

(1) seven elected members as provided in Subsection C of this section;

(2) one member who is a registered voter of the municipality appointed by the governing body of the municipality; and

(3) one member who is a registered voter of the county appointed by the governing body of the county.

B. In addition to the members specified in Subsection A of this section, the members of a metropolitan water board that is located in a class B county and a municipality lying totally or partially within the boundaries of that county shall include one additional member appointed by the primary privately owned water company of that municipality if:

(1) the city has a population of more than fifty thousand but less than one hundred thousand according to the last federal decennial census or any subsequent decennial census; or

(2) the county has a population separate of the city of more than twenty-five thousand but less than sixty thousand according to the last federal decennial census or any subsequent decennial census.

C. Elected members of a metropolitan water board shall be elected at a county-wide special election or at a general election by the registered voters of such county and municipality for such terms as are specified in the respective identical ordinances of the municipality and the county, pursuant to Section 3-61-1 NMSA 1978. Public employees may be elected to and serve on the board.

D. For the purpose of electing members of the metropolitan water board, the governing bodies of the municipality and the county shall, in the identical such ordinances pursuant to Section 3-61-1 NMSA 1978, district the county once after each federal decennial census into a number of single-member districts equal to the number of elected board members; provided that in class B counties the board shall consist of no less than seven elected members. The districts shall be of equal populations as nearly as is practicable, and each member of the board shall reside in and be elected from his respective district.

E. Change of residence to a place outside the district from which a metropolitan board member was elected shall automatically terminate the service of that member on the board, and the office shall be declared vacant. The respective governing bodies shall jointly, by appointment, fill any vacancies on the board until the next succeeding regular or special election, other than a school election, which is applicable to the area over which the board has jurisdiction, at which time the position shall be filled by election for the remainder of the unexpired term of the member creating the vacancy.

History: 1978 Comp., § 3-61-1.1, enacted by Laws 1985, ch. 144, § 2; 1989, ch. 358, § 2.

Cross references. — For class B counties, see 4-44-1 NMSA 1978.

The 1989 amendment, effective June 16, 1989, added Subsections A and B, redesignated former Subsections A to C as Subsections C to E, in Subsection C, inserted "Elected" at the beginning, and, in Subsection D, inserted "once after each federal decennial census" and "elected" preceding "board members" and substituted "no less than seven elected members" for "no less than five nor more than seven members" in the first sentence.