Rhode Island § 45-59-12 - District Management Authorities

§ 45-59-12. Governing board.

(a) The activities of the district management authority will be managed by a board of directors which will consist of nine (9) members.

(b) All of the directors will be owners or tenants of real property (not exempt from taxation by law) located within the management district or residents of the management district, or managers of real property (not exempt from taxation by law) located within the management district except for: (1) the chief elected officer of the municipality or his or her designee, (2) owners of real property located within the management district which is exempt from taxation by law who are voluntarily contributing to the costs of operating the management district.

(c) Two (2) of the directors will be appointed by the chief elected officer of the municipality within which the district management authority is located, one of whom may be the chief elected officer of the municipality or his or her designee and the other will be an owner of real property (not exempt from taxation by law) located within the management district. Seven (7) of the directors will be appointed by the organization which was designated in the petition submitted pursuant to § 45-59-5; four (4) of the seven (7) directors so appointed will be owners of real property (not exempt from taxation by law) located within the management district or owners of real property located within the management district which is exempt from taxation by law who are voluntarily contributing to the costs of operating the management district.

(d) Terms for the directors will be as follows:

(1) The chief elected officer will assign to the persons initially appointed by him or her terms of one and two (2) years so that the terms of the directors so appointed will expire on the last days of the first and second fiscal years respectively.

(2) The business organization designated in the petition filed pursuant to § 45-59-5 will assign to the seven (7) persons initially appointed by it, terms of one year (as to two (2) of them), two (2) years (as to two (2) of them), and three (3) years (as to three (3) of them) so that the terms of the directors so appointed will expire on the last days of the first, second and third fiscal years respectively.

(3) Beginning on the last day of the first fiscal year and on the last day of each succeeding fiscal year, the appointing authorities will appoint directors, to succeed the directors whose terms are then expiring, which successor directors will serve for terms of three (3) years and thereafter until their successors are appointed and will have qualified.

(e) Directors will receive no compensation for the performance of their duties but may be reimbursed for their reasonable expenses in carrying out such duties.