May 16, 1975
Mr. Jack Klauck
State's Attorney
Pennington County
Rapid City, South Dakota 57701
OFFICIAL OPINION NO. 75-87
Must a member of a sanitary district board of trustees be a resident of the district?
Dear Mr. Klauck:
You have asked for an official opinion based upon the following factual situation:
A member of the Keystone/Mount Rushmore Sanitary District Board of Trustees recently moved her residence from the city of Keystone to outside of the sanitary district area.
You have asked the following question:
Must a member of a sanitary district board of trustees reside within the area of the district?
You stated in your request for an opinion that you were unable to determine if residency requirements specify that members of the board of trustees must reside within the district. I have reviewed chapter 34-17 and I cannot find a specific provision requiring a member of the board of trustees to be a resident of the district. SDCL 37-14-18 does speak of the certificates of nomination and requires that they be signed by at least five per cent of the qualified electors of the district. However, this provision does not require the candidate for the board of trustees to be a qualified elector of the district, of course, meaning a resident of the district.
A candidate for election or appointment to an office of a district or other political subdivision or unit may be required by provision of the constitution, statutes, or ordinances to be a resident or inhabitant thereof. But where residence within the district or political unit is not made a condition of eligibility to holding office therein by express provisions of the law, such residence is generally considered not necessary. See Bigney v. Secretary of Commonwealth, 301 Mass. 107, 16 N.E. 2d 573, 120 ALR 669.
Therefore, the answer to your question is NO. There are no constitutional, statutory, or other provisions requiring a member of the board of trustees of a sanitary district to be a resident of the district.
Respectfully submitted,
WILLIAM J. JANKLOW
ATTORNEY GENERAL
WJJ:RVJ:rw
