Marion County, board of Marion County Public Water Authority further provided for

New rules for Marion County water board

Beginning October 1, 2025, a five-member board governs the Marion County Public Water Authority and controls its powers. The county commission chair serves automatically. Four groups each appoint one director: the Marion County Firefighters Association, incorporated municipalities' elected mayors, and Alabama House and Senate members representing Marion County. Each incorporated municipality gets one vote in the mayors' selection. The four appointees' first terms are one, two, three, and four years, respectively. Later appointed terms last four years, with a limit of three consecutive four-year terms. The commission chair is exempt from that limit. Appointed directors must be qualified voters, live in Marion County, and own real property there. That property need not be within the authority's service area, and state, county, and municipal officers may serve. The Governor may make an initial appointment left unfilled 45 days after incorporation. The original appointing group fills vacancies, including the remaining term after death, disability, resignation, or impeachment. An appointing group must remove a director who misses three consecutive called or scheduled meetings and appoint a replacement within 45 days. It may also recall its director after giving 30 days' written notice. After recall, it must appoint a replacement within 45 days. The Governor must appoint a replacement if either replacement deadline is missed. Directors also face impeachment and removal under the constitutional grounds and procedures used for other state or local officers. Directors receive pay for each meeting attended, with the amount set by a majority board vote. They also receive reimbursement for actual duty-related expenses under the authority's bylaws. The law validates board compensation paid before October 1, 2025, without stating those amounts.