§8-25-6. Membership, organization, etc., of regional council; executive committee; officers and personnel.

(a) All municipalities and all counties within the region shall be represented on the regional council. The county representative shall be the president of the county commission or a member of the county commission designated by him or her. The municipal representative shall be the mayor or a member of the governing body designated by him or her. The number of members of the regional council by virtue of this subsection shall comprise not less than fifty-one percent of the total number of members.

(b) Regional council members serving by virtue of subsection (a) of this section shall select additional members to serve on the council to represent principal community or regional interests, including, but not limited to, commerce, banking, industry, labor, agriculture, education, health and any such interests as may be required by federal law or regulations. The selection of such members shall also provide for reasonable representation of geographic, economic and ethnic groups without exclusion of significant minority groups. Subsequent changes in the designation of representatives shall be determined by the regional council. The number of members serving by virtue of this subsection shall not exceed forty-nine percent of the total number of members.

(c) Each regional council shall select from its membership a chairman, who shall preside at each council meeting, and an executive committee which shall be comprised of one representative from each county commission and one representative from the largest municipality within each county in the region and such other members as the aforesaid representatives may select, but such other members so selected shall not constitute more than forty-nine percent of the total membership of the executive committee. The executive committee shall perform such administrative duties as are prescribed by the regional council in its bylaws and shall exercise the review function provided for in section nine of this article. Each regional council may further provide for such other officers as it shall deem necessary and may establish other committees which may include citizens who are not regional council members.

(d) Each regional council shall establish personnel rules and shall appoint a director who shall be qualified by reason of training and experience. The director shall be empowered to appoint and remove other employees in accordance with the regional council's personnel rules. He or she may, with the approval of the executive committee, enter into agreements with governmental agencies within the region for the use of personnel, equipment and facilities.

(e) Whenever a person associated with a public utility or bank has a conflict of interest between the council and that public utility or bank, or any other member of the council has a direct pecuniary interest in a question before the council, then he or she must recuse himself or herself from any vote, discussion or other activity associated with the council or its members that creates the conflict of interest.