IMPORTANT NEW STEP IN THE PROCEDURE FOR THE RE-APPOINTMENT OR RE-ELECTION OF AN INCUMBENT UTILITY DISTRICT COMMISSIONER

By the enactment of Public Chapter 657, which became effective on March 15, 2022, the legislature established an additional step in the procedure for the re-appointment or re-election of an incumbent utility district commissioner.

An incumbent utility district commissioner who is nominated for re-appointment must certify to the county mayor that the commissioner has complied with the training and continuing education requirements for commissioners set forth in T.C.A 7-82-308(f) to be eligible for re-appointment.  This certification must be presented to the county mayor before the commissioner is re-appointed.  TAUD suggests that the certification be presented to the county mayor at the same time the utility district submits its three nominees to the county mayor to fill a vacancy on the board of commissioners.

If a utility district commissioner is elected by the utility district’s customers, an incumbent utility district commissioner seeking re-election certification must be presented to the utility district before the incumbent commissioner can be placed on the ballot for re-election.

Unfortunately, the legislature has added yet another step to the utility district commissioner selection process which is already a multi-step process.  Nevertheless, all steps required by the legislature must be followed for a utility district commissioner to be properly appointed.  A suggested certification for an incumbent utility district commissioner being re-appointed can be found at this link: here and for an incumbent utility district commissioner being re-elected can be found at this link: here.

Prepared by Don Scholes TAUD General Counsel.