SECTIONS 5784-5784.15 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 5784-5784.15

5784. (a) A legislative body known as the board of directors shall
govern every district. The board of directors shall establish
policies for the operation of the district. The board of directors
shall provide for the faithful implementation of those policies which
is the responsibility of the employees of the district.
(b) Except as provided in this article, the board of directors
consists of five members.
(c) No person shall be a candidate for or be appointed to the
board of directors unless he or she is a voter of the district or the
proposed district.
(d) Service on a municipal advisory council established pursuant
to Section 31010 of the Government Code shall not be considered an
incompatible office with service as an elected member of a board of
directors.

5784.1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if on December
31, 2001, a member of the board of directors was elected or appointed
as a voter of this state and is an owner of real property within the
district, pursuant to the former Section 5783.3, that person may
continue to serve on that board of directors for the remainder of the
term for which he or she was elected or appointed, and that person
may be elected or appointed to that board of directors in the future
after that term ends, provided that the person continues to be a
voter of this state and an owner of real property within the
district.

5784.2. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a local
agency formation commission, in approving either a consolidation of
districts or the reorganization of two or more districts into a
single recreation and park district, pursuant to subdivisions (k) and
(n) of Section 56886 of the Government Code, may temporarily
increase the number of directors to serve on the board of directors
of the consolidated or reorganized district to seven or nine, who
shall be members of the board of directors of the districts to be
consolidated or reorganized as of the effective date of the
consolidation or reorganization.
(b) Upon the expiration of the terms of the members of the board
of directors of the consolidated or reorganized district, whose terms
first expire following the effective date of the consolidation or
reorganization, the total number of members on the board of directors
shall be reduced until the number equals five members.
(c) In addition to the powers granted under Section 1780 of the
Government Code, in the event of a vacancy on the board of directors
of the consolidated or reorganized district at which time the total
number of directors is greater than five, the board of directors may,
by majority vote of the remaining members of the board, choose not
to fill the vacancy. In that event, the total membership of the board
of directors shall be reduced by one board member.
(d) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions
apply:
(1) "Consolidation" means consolidation as defined in Section
56030 of the Government Code.
(2) "District" or "special district" means district or special
district as defined in Section 56036 of the Government Code.
(3) "Reorganization" means reorganization as defined in Section
56073 of the Government Code.

5784.3. (a) The term of office of each member of a board of
directors who has been elected or appointed to a fixed term is four
years. Directors shall take office at noon on the first Friday in
December following their election or their appointment to a fixed
term.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), in the case of a district
formed on or after January 1, 2002, the directors shall serve the
terms determined pursuant to Section 5783.11.
(c) Any vacancy in the office of a member appointed to a board of
directors shall be filled pursuant to Section 1779 of the Government
Code.
(d) Any vacancy in the office of a member elected to a board of
directors shall be filled pursuant to Section 1780 of the Government
Code.

5784.5. If a county board of supervisors or a city council has
appointed itself as the board of directors, the board of supervisors
or city council may delegate any or all of its powers to a recreation
and park commission composed of five commissioners. In the case of a
district governed by a board of supervisors, the commissioners may
be council members of cities that are located in the district. The
board of supervisors or city council shall determine whether the
commissioners shall serve at its pleasure or for staggered terms of
four years, subject to removal for cause. A commissioner shall be a
voter of the district.

5784.7. (a) Within 45 days after their first election and after
each general district election or unopposed election, or at the
beginning of each new term for members of an appointed board, the
board of directors shall meet and elect its officers.
(b) The officers of a board of directors are a chair and vice
chair. A board of directors may create additional officers and elect
members to those positions, provided that no member of a board of
directors shall hold more than one office.
(c) The board of directors may appoint one of its members as
secretary. The board of directors may also employ a clerk to perform
the duties of the secretary. If the board of directors does not
appoint a secretary, the clerk shall perform the duties of the
secretary.
(d) In the case of a district that includes only incorporated
territory within a single city, the city treasurer shall act as the
district treasurer and shall receive no compensation for the receipt
and disbursement of money of the district. In all other cases, the
county treasurer of the principal county shall act as the district
treasurer and shall receive no compensation for the receipt and
disbursement of money of the district.

5784.9. (a) Notwithstanding Section 5784.7, a district may
establish an alternative depositary pursuant to this section.
(b) The board of directors may adopt a resolution to designate a
bank or a savings and loan association as the depositary of any or
all of its funds. The board of directors and the board of supervisors
of the principal county shall determine a mutually acceptable date
for the transfer of the district's funds to that depositary, not to
exceed 15 months from the date on which the board of directors
adopted its resolution.
(c) If the board of directors does not designate that depositary
for all of its funds, the board of directors shall designate what
funds are to be deposited in that depositary. The county treasurer
shall be the depositary for all funds not so designated.
(d) The charges of any depositary designated pursuant to this
section shall be a proper expense of the district.
(e) The board of directors shall appoint a person who shall be
known as the finance officer, who shall serve at the pleasure of the
board of directors. The finance officer may be a member of the board
of directors, the general manager, or the office of finance officer
may be consolidated with the office of secretary. The board of
directors shall fix the amount of the finance officer's compensation.
The board of directors shall fix the amount of and approve the
finance officer's bond.
(f) Bond principal and interest and salaries shall be paid when
due. Except as provided in subdivision (g), the board of directors
shall approve all other claims and demands in an open meeting by a
majority of the members of the board of directors.
(g) Warrants drawn in payment of claims and demands approved by
the finance officer as conforming to an approved budget need not be
approved by the board of directors prior to payment. These claims and
demands shall be presented to the board of directors for
ratification and approval in the audited comprehensive annual
financial report.
(h) The finance officer shall draw the warrants. The warrants
shall be signed by either the chair of the board of directors or
another member of the board, and by either the secretary or the
general manager. The board of directors, by ordinance or resolution,
may prescribe an alternative method of drawing and signing warrants,
provided that the method adheres to generally accepted accounting
principles.
(i) The finance officer shall install and maintain a system of
auditing and accounting that shall completely and at all times show
the financial condition of the district.
(j) The finance officer shall make annual or more frequent written
reports to the board of directors, as the board shall determine,
regarding the receipts and disbursements and balances in the accounts
that are controlled by the finance officer. The finance officer
shall sign the reports and file them with the secretary.
(k) A bank or savings and loan association may act as a
depositary, paying agent, or fiscal agent for the holding or handling
of the district's funds, notwithstanding the fact that a member of
the board of directors whose funds are on deposit in that bank or
savings and loan association is an officer, employee, or stockholder
of that bank or savings and loan association, or of a holding company
that owns any of the stock of that bank or savings and loan company.

5784.11. A board of directors shall meet at least once every three
months. Meetings of the board of directors are subject to the
provisions of the Ralph M. Brown Act, Chapter 9 (commencing with
Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government
Code.

5784.13. (a) A majority of the board of directors shall constitute
a quorum for the transaction of business.
(b) The board of directors shall act only by ordinance,
resolution, or motion.
(c) Except as otherwise specifically provided to the contrary in
this chapter, a recorded majority vote of the total membership of the
board of directors is required on each action.
(d) The board of directors shall keep a record of all its acts,
including financial transactions.
(e) The board of directors shall adopt rules for its proceedings.

5784.15. (a) The board of directors may provide, by ordinance or
resolution, that each of its members may receive compensation in an
amount not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100) for attending each
meeting of the board. The board of directors, by ordinance adopted
pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 20200) of Division 10
of the Water Code, may increase the amount of compensation received
for attending meetings of the board.
(b) The maximum compensation in any calendar month shall be five
hundred dollars ($500).
(c) In addition, members of the board of directors may receive
their actual and necessary traveling and incidental expenses incurred
while on official business.
(d) A member of the board of directors may waive the compensation.
(e) For the purposes of this section, a meeting of the board of
directors includes, but is not limited to, regular meetings, special
meetings, closed sessions, emergency meetings, board field trips,
district public hearings, or meetings of a committee of the board.
(f) For purposes of this section, the determination of whether a
director's activities on any specific day are compensable shall be
made pursuant to Article 2.3 (commencing with Section 53232) of
Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code.
(g) Reimbursement for these expenses is subject to Sections
53232.2 and 53232.3 of the Government Code.