Alabama § 45-52A-35.08 - Municipal Utilities Board - Authority and Duties.

§ 45-52A-35.08. Municipal Utilities Board - Authority and Duties.

(a) The board shall have complete control of each of the public utilities owned by the City of Decatur including, without limitation, the electric, gas, water, and wastewater services and facilities of the City of Decatur, and shall manage and operate each such municipally owned utility. The board may organize the utilities under its control in such manner as the board deems advisable including, without limitation, consolidating all financial operations of the utilities under its control so long as the books of the operations are kept in such manner as to allocate to the respective utilities the income and expenditures applicable to them; consolidating all operations under one general manager; consolidating the operations of any of the utilities under the board’s control under one operation manager or under a separate manager or managers; and creating any departments within the organization which the board deems to be in the best interest of the utilities, such as an administration department, a personnel department, or other departments that appear to the board to be desirable.

(b) The board, upon terms to be fixed by the board, may employ or discharge a general manager and such other managers and employees who may be needed in the operations under the control of the board.

(c) The board may delegate to any general or departmental manager the board employs, the authority to employ or discharge other employees which may be needed; to direct their work and to manage, control, and operate the public utility or utilities of the City of Decatur of which he or she is the manager; and to account to the board for his or her acts in so doing, but his or her authority shall be restricted as the authority of the board is restricted in this part.

(d) The board may adopt such fiscal year or years for the operations under its control as the board may from time to time determine.

(e)(1) The board shall charge for and collect all accounts due for any service that any of the utilities under the board’s control may furnish to its customers, upon rates to be provided and approved by the governing body of the City of Decatur.

(2) Subject to the limitation contained in Section 45-52A-35.14, the board, on behalf of the City of Decatur, may enter into all contracts and agreements that are necessary or desirable in the performance of its duties under this part. Such contracts may be executed, on behalf of the City of Decatur, by such officer or employee of the board as may be designated by the board.

(3) Contracts for purchase of utility services at wholesale may not be executed by or on behalf of the board without the consent and approval of the governing body of the city.

(4) Contracts for sale of utility services which may bind the city for more than 10 years may not be executed by or on behalf of the board without the consent and approval of the governing body of the city.

(5) The board may collect and receive all income from the operation of the utilities under its control and expend the same in the operation of the same.

(6) Suits for the collection of accounts due for service that any utility may furnish to its customers or for enforcement of agreements made on behalf of the city by the board or for the enforcement of other rights of such utilities shall be conducted by the board, at the expense of the respective utilities, in the name of the City of Decatur.

(f) The board shall comply with all provisions of contracts made by the City of Decatur for the purchase of electricity, gas, or other utility services at wholesale and with the provisions of all bond ordinances adopted by the governing body of the City of Decatur pertaining to the municipally owned utilities of the city and shall distribute and account for funds received from the sale of utility services as required by any such contracts or bond ordinances.

(g)(1) Each member of the board and each general manager appointed by the board, and each departmental manager appointed by the general manager, now or hereafter serving as such, shall be indemnified by the board against all claims and liabilities to which he or she has or shall become subject by reason of serving or having served as such or by reason of any action alleged to have been taken, omitted, or neglected by him or her as such board member or manager; and the board shall reimburse each individual for all legal expenses reasonably incurred by him or her in connection with any such claim or liability, provided that no individual shall be indemnified against, or be reimbursed for, any expense incurred in connection with any claim or liability arising out of his or her own willful misconduct or gross negligence.

(2) The amount paid to any board member or manager by way of indemnification shall not exceed his or her actual, reasonable, and necessary expenses incurred in connection with the matter involved. The right of indemnification provided by this subsection shall not be exclusive of any rights to which any board member or manager of the board may otherwise be entitled by law. The board may purchase suitable insurance coverage for such indemnity.

(h) The board shall operate all municipally owned utilities economically and in a manner that encourages the expansion of and economic growth in the service area of each utility. The board shall also account for and pay over any net revenues realized from such operations to the City of Decatur at such time or times and in such manner as may be determined by the governing body of the City of Decatur.