Sec. 3. (a) A department of public sanitation is established as an executive department of the municipality. However, in the case of a district described in subsection (b)(2), the department is established as an executive department of each municipality in the district.

     (b) The department is under the control of a board of sanitary commissioners, which is composed as follows:

(1) If the department is established under section 1(a) of this chapter, the board consists of not less than three (3) but not more than five (5) commissioners. All of the commissioners shall be appointed by the municipal executive, unless one (1) commissioner is the municipal engineer. Not more than two (2) of the commissioners may be of the same political party, unless the board consists of five (5) commissioners, in which case not more than three (3) may be of the same political party.

(2) Notwithstanding subdivision (1), if the department is established under section 1(a) of this chapter and the district contains at least one (1) city having a population of less than one hundred thousand (100,000) and at least one (1) town, the board consists of one (1) commissioner from each municipality in the district. The executive of each of those municipalities shall appoint one (1) commissioner. If after all appointments are made the board has fewer than five (5) commissioners, the executive of the municipality with the largest population shall appoint the number of additional commissioners needed to bring the total to five (5). Not more than three (3) of the commissioners may be of the same political party.

(3) If the department is established under section 1(b) of this chapter, the board consists of not less than three (3) commissioners but not more than five (5) commissioners. One (1) commissioner is the city civil engineer. All other commissioners shall be appointed by the city executive. Not more than two (2) of the commissioners may be of the same political party, unless the board consists of five (5) commissioners, in which case not more than three (3) of the commissioners may be of the same political party. However, if the department is located in a county having a population of:

(A) more than one hundred thousand (100,000) and less than one hundred ten thousand (110,000);

(B) more than one hundred twelve thousand (112,000) and less than one hundred twenty thousand (120,000);

(C) more than one hundred eighty-five thousand (185,000) and less than two hundred thousand (200,000); or

(D) more than one hundred thirty thousand (130,000) and less than one hundred thirty-nine thousand (139,000);

and the city does not have a city civil engineer, one (1) of the commissioners must be a licensed engineer, appointed by the executive, with at least five (5) years experience in civil or sanitary engineering. In addition, in such a city the commissioners may not hold another public office. Not more than two (2) of the commissioners may be of the same political party, unless the board consists of five (5) commissioners, in which case not more than three (3) of the commissioners may be of the same political party.

     (c) Before beginning the commissioner’s duties, each commissioner shall take and subscribe the usual oath of office. The oath shall be endorsed upon the certificate of appointment and filed with the municipal clerk.

     (d) Each commissioner shall also execute a bond in the penal sum of five thousand dollars ($5,000) payable to the state and conditioned upon the faithful performance of the commissioner’s duties and the faithful accounting for all money and property that comes under the commissioner’s control. The bond must be approved by the municipal executive.

     (e) The appointed commissioners are entitled to a salary of not less than three thousand six hundred dollars ($3,600) a year during actual construction and not less than six hundred dollars ($600) a year in other years.

     (f) Notwithstanding IC 36-1-8-10, whenever this section requires that the membership of the board of sanitary commissioners not exceed a stated number of members from the same political party, at the time of appointment the appointee must:

(1) have voted in the two (2) most recent primary elections held by the party with which the appointee claims affiliation; or

(2) if the appointee did not vote in the two (2) most recent primary elections or only voted in one (1) of those elections, be certified as a member of the party with which the appointee claims affiliation by that party’s county chair for the county in which the appointee resides.

[Pre-Local Government Recodification Citations: subsection (a) formerly 19-2-14-1 part; subsections (b)(1), (b)(2) formerly 19-2-27-1 part; subsection (b)(3) formerly 19-2-14-1 part; 19-2-28-5 part; 19-2-28.5-3 part; subsections (c), (d) formerly 19-2-14-1 part; subsection (e) formerly 19-2-14-2 part.]

As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.98. Amended by Acts 1982, P.L.1, SEC.64; P.L.319-1989, SEC.1; P.L.320-1989, SEC.1; P.L.12-1992, SEC.180; P.L.170-2002, SEC.169; P.L.175-2006, SEC.21; P.L.17-2007, SEC.1; P.L.119-2012, SEC.231; P.L.127-2017, SEC.316; P.L.104-2022, SEC.213.