(a) At least one (1) member shall be elected by the legislative body of each county in a multi-county region for a term of three (3) years in accordance with the contract between the counties and as provided in § 10-5-101. In accordance with the contract between the counties and as provided in § 10-5-101, the governing body of any municipality which contributes as much as one fourth (¼) of the public funds available for the operation of a joint city-county system may elect one (1) of the two (2) members representing that county for a term of three (3) years. If more than one (1) municipality is entitled to elect a member, these municipalities shall alternate in electing one (1) member for a three-year term.

(b) A member of a regional library board shall represent and reside in the county or municipality from which the member was elected. If a member moves from or no longer resides in the county or municipality from which the member was elected, the member must vacate the member's office. If a vacancy occurs on the board, a successor shall be elected for the unexpired term at the next meeting of the governing body of the county or the municipality in which the vacancy occurred. Members shall be elected for no more than two (2) successive terms and may be reappointed after a minimum three-year break in service. A member of the regional library board who is not an active member of a county library board is designated an ex officio member of the county board. A member of the regional library board may be an active member of a county library board.