Title 45
Towns and Cities

Chapter 39.2
Clear River Electric and Water District [Effective January 1, 2025.]

§ 45-39.2-6. Membership of board of utility commissioners. [Effective January 1, 2025.]

(a) The board of utility commissioners shall consist of not more than seven (7) nor less than five (5) members. Four (4) members of the board shall constitute a quorum and a vote of four (4) members shall be necessary for all action taken by the board unless the board consists of only five (5) members, in which case three (3) members shall constitute a quorum and a vote of three (3) members shall be necessary for all action taken by the board. No vacancy in the membership of the board shall impair the right of a quorum to exercise all the rights and perform all the duties of the board. The initial members of the board of utility commissioners shall be comprised of three (3) members of the utility commissioners currently holding office under the auspices of the Pascoag utility district; three (3) members of the operating committee of the Harrisville fire district (to be selected by the Harrisville fire district operating committee); and one member to be elected by qualified voters at a special election. The terms of such initial board members shall be three (3) years for one member elected and the most senior member from the Pascoag utility district and the Harrisville fire district, and a two-year (2) term for the next most senior member of each, and one-year term for the third most senior member of each, each of whom shall continue to serve until their initial terms expire. Thereafter, the members of the board of utility commissioners of the Clear River electric and water district shall be elected for a term of three (3) years by ballot of qualified voters otherwise eligible to vote in the annual or special election in succeeding years.

(b) The members of the board of utility commissioners, moderator, or clerk shall be residents of the villages of Pascoag, Harrisville, or Oakland. Such residents of the villages of Pascoag, Harrisville, and Oakland and whose name appears on an active account with the Clear River electric and water district shall be eligible to be a candidate for election to any one of the above offices; provided, however, that they shall first have filed a declaration of candidacy with the secretary of the board of utility commissioners not later than thirty (30) calendar days prior to the scheduled date of the election through which such person seeks to be elected. In the event of a vacancy occurring on the board of utility commissioners, moderator, or clerk by reason of death, resignation, or other cause, the board itself may select an eligible candidate to fill the vacancy until the next annual election.

(c) The board of utility commissioners shall elect each year from among its members:

(1) A chairperson, who shall chair and moderate meetings of the board of utility commissioners and shall execute such other authorities and duties as the board may provide;

(2) A vice chairperson who shall assume all duties of the chairperson in the chairperson’s absence; and

(3) A secretary, who shall maintain minutes of the meetings of the board of utility commissioners, provide notice of the meetings in accordance with law, and shall have such other duties as the board of utility commissioners may determine.

The board of utility commissioners shall appoint a treasurer, who may be a member of the board or a general or special employee of the electric and water district, and who shall have charge and control of the money and deposits of the electric and water district.

(d) The board of utility commissioners shall establish and adopt bylaws for the management and conduct of the electric and water district’s affairs, and other aspects of the governance of the electric and water district not otherwise controlled by this chapter. Pending the adoption of the bylaws, the board of utility commissioners shall be deemed to have adopted, and shall conduct the board’s business in accordance with, those portions of the bylaws of the Pascoag utility district.

(e) In order to ensure that the status of the electric and water district as a quasi-municipal corporation, district, and political subdivision of the state does not prejudice its ability to contribute to the development of effective competition in the electricity and communications industries in the state, it is specifically found and determined that:

(1) Strategic business planning records of the electric and water district (including without limitation business plans, draft contracts, proposals, financial analyses, and other similar documents) shall not be subject to the disclosure requirements of chapter 2 of title 38 unless the same materials in comparable circumstances in the hands of an investor-owned utility would be subject to disclosure under other laws of the state; and

(2) Strategic business planning discussions of the board of utility commissioners, including such discussions with electric and water district employees or consultants, are deemed to fall within the circumstances defined in § 42-46-5(a)(7).