One of our consolidated human services board members recently moved to a neighboring county. May she continue to serve on our county's CHS board?

G.S. 153A-77(c) states that the BOCC may remove a CHS board member for failure to maintain qualifications for appointment required under G.S. 153A-77(c). The qualifications listed under G.S. 153A-77(c) include being a resident of the county. Accordingly, some people may argue that a CHS board member who ceases to be a bona fide county resident is disqualified from continuing to serve on the CHS board. An alternative argument is that the county residency requirement applies at the time a person is appointed to the board but doesn't apply with respect to the member’s continued service on the board. Given that the statute refers to removal of a member on the basis of failure to “maintain” qualifications for appointment, the stronger argument is that a CHS board member is required to remain a county resident during the duration of the member’s term on the board.