§3813. Appointments of waterworks commissioners; terms; vacancies

            A. In the ordinance creating a waterworks district under this Chapter, the police jury shall appoint five commissioners recommended in the petition for the creation of the district.

            B. If no recommendation is made in the said petition, or no petition is received, the police jury shall exercise discretion in the choice of said commissioners. The said five commissioners shall, at their first meeting, determine by lot their terms of office, which shall be respectively, one, two, three, four and five years, and they shall serve until their successors shall have been appointed and qualified. Thereafter all commissioners shall serve at the pleasure of the authority which appointed them.

            C.(1) Where one municipality, or any part of a municipality, is to be included in the district, the membership of the board of commissioners shall consist of eight members, five to be appointed as above provided, one additional member to be appointed by the police jury and the remaining two to be appointed by the governing authority of the municipality included in the district. If two municipalities, or parts of municipalities, are included, the governing authority of each such municipality shall be entitled to appoint one member and the police jury shall be entitled to appoint two additional members. In the event more than two municipalities are included, the two municipalities having the largest population within the district shall appoint the two members representing the municipalities and the police jury shall appoint two additional members. If one or more municipalities are included in the district and no recommendations for appointments to the board from said municipalities are made in the petition to create the district, or no petition is received, the governing authority of the municipalities shall exercise discretion in the choice of commissioners.

            (2) However, for the Lafourche Water District, whose membership is provided by R.S. 33:3812(C), the police jury shall appoint all the members except that the member, appointed by the police jury from an apportioned area in which a municipality is located, shall be appointed by the police jury from a list of names furnished by the governing authority of the municipality within the Lafourche Water District. The Lafourche Parish Police Jury shall appoint members to the board who shall represent apportioned population areas within the Lafourche Water District. The apportioned population areas to be represented shall be determined by the Lafourche Parish Police Jury based on population and using the most recent census information available.

            (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, the board of commissioners of Assumption Parish Waterworks District shall consist of eleven members. One member shall be appointed by the parish governing authority for each of the nine wards in the parish and two members shall be appointed by the governing authority of the municipality located within the parish.

            (4) Notwithstanding any provision of this Section to the contrary, if any portion of the territory contained in Waterworks District No. 9 of Ward 4 of Calcasieu Parish is annexed by a municipality, the membership of the board shall remain at five commissioners, all appointed by the police jury of Calcasieu Parish.

            (5) Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 33:3813(C)(1), the membership of the board of commissioners of the West Allen Parish Water District shall be comprised of seven members. Five members shall be appointed by the police jury as provided in this Section, and the remaining two members shall be appointed by the governing authority of the municipality included within the waterworks district.

            (6) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section, the membership of the board of commissioners of each waterworks district in West Baton Rouge Parish shall be comprised of five members. The members shall be appointed by the police jury as provided in this Section, except that in a district which includes the entirety of a municipality, two members shall be appointed by the governing authority of the municipality. The provisions of this Subsection shall not apply to the board of commissioners for West Baton Rouge Parish Water Works District No. 1.

            (7) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section to the contrary, the membership of the board of commissioners of the Livingston Parish Ward Two Water District shall be comprised of seven members. The members shall be appointed by the governing authority of Livingston Parish.

            (8) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the governing authority of the parish of Pointe Coupee may provide, by ordinance, for the membership of the governing board of Waterworks District No. 1 of Pointe Coupee Parish. The ordinance shall provide that the members of the governing board shall be appointed by the parish governing authority. Members of the governing board shall serve at the pleasure of the parish governing authority.

            D. The provisions of the foregoing paragraph shall not apply to the Village of Sarepta in Webster Parish.

            E. Where the membership of the board of districts hereafter created consists of eight or nine commissioners, the commissioners shall, at their first meeting, determine by lot their terms of office. One member shall serve for a term of one year; one member shall serve for a term of two years; one member shall serve for a term of three years; three members shall serve for a term of four years; and the remaining members shall serve for a term of five years. Thereafter all commissioners shall serve at the pleasure of the authority which appointed them.

            F. Where one or more municipalities, or any part of such municipality or municipalities, are included in a district already in existence on December 25, 1964, the membership of the board of such district shall be increased to either eight or nine members in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter. After the additional three or four members have been appointed in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, the additional members shall, at the first meeting of the board after their appointment, determine by lot their initial terms of office. One member shall serve for a term of one year; one member shall serve for a term of two years; one member shall serve for a term of three years; and the fourth new member, if there be one, shall serve for a term of four years. Thereafter all commissioners shall serve at the pleasure of the authority which appointed them.

            G. Recommendations for the original appointment shall be made upon petitions in writing. If more than one petition is presented the appointments shall be made from the recommendation contained in the petition representing the greatest amount of assessed value of property in the waterworks district.

            H. Petitions shall be tabulated and submitted to the clerk of court and the assessor of the parish wherein the district is located for ratification as to correctness. They shall be acted upon at the next meeting following by the police jury.

            I. Any vacancy which occurs by expiration or otherwise of any commissioner appointed by the police jury shall thereafter be filled by the police jury, at its sole discretion and any vacancy which occurs by expiration or otherwise of any commissioner appointed by the governing authority of a municipality included in the district shall thereafter be filled by the governing authority of said municipality, at its sole discretion.

            J. These provisions shall apply to existing waterworks districts, as well as those hereafter created. Where any existing district contains one or more municipalities or any part of such municipalities, the board of commissioners shall consist of eight or nine members and the governing authority of the municipality or municipalities included in the district shall and the police jury, within sixty days after December 25, 1964, fill the vacancies thus created, the terms of the appointments to be five years.

            K.(1) Notwithstanding any provision of this Section or of any other law to the contrary, the board of commissioners of Waterworks District No. 3 of the Parish of Rapides, State of Louisiana, shall be composed of nine members. The members shall be appointed as follows:

            (a) Five of such members shall be appointed by the parish governing authority of Rapides Parish.

            (b) Three of such members shall be appointed by the governing authority of the town of Ball with the approval of the mayor of Ball.

            (c) One of such members shall be appointed by the governing authority of the city of Pineville with the approval of the mayor of Pineville.

            (2) The members appointed pursuant to Subparagraphs (1)(b) and (c) of this Subsection need not be residents of the respective municipalities.

            (3) It is the intent of the legislature in enacting this Subsection that two of the members of the board of commissioners of Waterworks District No. 3 of the Parish of Rapides, State of Louisiana, in office on June 13, 2001, who were appointed by the governing authority of Rapides Parish shall be replaced by members appointed as provided in Subparagraph (1)(b) of this Subsection. In order to implement this Subsection, on June 13, 2001, two offices on the board designated by the governing authority of Rapides Parish that are held by board members who were appointed by the governing authority of Rapides Parish shall be vacated by operation of law and these vacancies shall be filled as provided in Subparagraph (1)(b) of this Subsection. The members so appointed shall serve at the pleasure of the authority that appointed them.

            Amended by Acts 1954, No. 210, §1; Acts 1956, No. 229, §1; Acts 1964, No. 441, §1; Acts 1964, Ex.Sess., No. 26, §2; Acts 1966, No. 302, §1; Acts 1974, No. 440, §1; Acts 1975, No. 108, §1; Acts 1985, No. 573, §1; Acts 1985, No. 574, §1; Acts 1989, No. 51, §1; Acts 1993, No. 206, §1; Acts 2001, No. 353, §1, eff. June 13, 2001; Acts 2021, No. 144, §1, eff. June 11, 2021; Acts 2023, No. 275, §1, eff. June 9, 2023.

NOTE: SEE ACTS 1989, NO. 51, §2.

NOTE: See AGO 01-260 relative to village of Sarepta. Concludes that Subsection C does not apply to Sarepta by reason of Acts 1966, No. 302 which added Subsection D.