The industrial development board shall have a board of directors in which all powers of the board shall be vested and which shall consist of any number of directors, not less than seven, five of whom shall be duly qualified electors of and taxpayers in the municipality. At the discretion of the municipal governing body, all of the remaining members shall be qualified electors and taxpayers of the municipality, or up to two of the remaining members may be qualified electors and taxpayers in the area outside of the corporate limits of the municipality where a project may be located. The directors shall serve without compensation except that they shall be reimbursed for their actual expenses incurred in and about the performance of their duties under this article. No director shall be an officer or employee of the municipality. The directors shall be elected by the governing body of the municipality, and they shall be so elected that they shall hold office for staggered terms. At the time of the election of the first board of directors, the governing body of the municipality shall divide the directors into three groups containing as nearly equal whole numbers as may be possible. The first term of the directors included in the first group shall be two years; the first term of the directors included in the second group shall be four years; the first term of the directors included in the third group shall be six years and thereafter the terms of all directors shall be six years; provided, that if at the expiration of any term of office of any director a successor thereto shall not have been elected, then the director whose term of office shall have expired shall continue to hold office until his or her successor shall be so elected. If at the time of the election of any directors there shall be in existence in the municipality a chamber of commerce, board of trade, or other similar civic organization, the directors elected shall be chosen by the governing body from the membership of any one or more of such organizations, unless in the judgment of the governing body there are no members of such organizations who are both suitable and available to serve as directors of the industrial development board.
Last modified: May 3, 2021