§ 15-7-406 — Agents, servants and employees

(a) The board shall make all appointments and hire all
agents, servants and employees of the departments, fix their
compensation and determine their qualifications, considering
only the relative capacity of applicants, their moral, physical
and health qualifications and when appropriate, their
qualifications for manual labor. All appointments shall be made
on the basis of merit alone, and no appointment may be made on
account of political services or affiliations. All agents,
servants and employees shall hold their offices at the board's
pleasure.
(b) The board may delegate the authority to hire, promote,
transfer, demote and discharge its employees to a director of
utilities, if one is appointed.