2016 -- H 8179

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LC005926

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2016

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO THE MERGER OF THE LONSDALE FIRE DISTRICT INTO THE

SAYLESVILLE FIRE DISTRICT

     Introduced By: Representatives O`Grady, and Ackerman

     Date Introduced: May 06, 2016

     Referred To: House Municipal Government

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. On June 1, 1882, the General Assembly adopted "An Act to Incorporate the

Lonsdale Fire District, Prospect Hill." On April 27, 1931, section 1 of the 1882 act was amended

by the General Assembly to change the original name of the fire district to the "Lonsdale Fire

District." The 1882 act has since been amended many other times by the General Assembly.

     SECTION 2. On March 23, 2016, the Lonsdale Board of Fire Wardens hereby

unanimously adopted a resolution seeking General Assembly authorization to empower the

electors of the Lonsdale Fire District to forfeit and abandon the charter of the Lonsdale Fire

District to transfer the power and responsibility to provide fire protection services to the

inhabitants in the area described in section 1 of the legislative charter of the Lonsdale Fire District

adopted in 1882 and amended many times, to the Saylesville Fire District.

     SECTION 3. The Lonsdale Fire District's Board of Fire Wardens is authorized to take

whichever actions they deem appropriate to effectuate its dissolution as an independent entity and

to merge its operations with the Saylesville Fire District in accordance with the districts'

resolutions of their respective Boards of Fire Wardens upon approval by the electors of both

districts. The Lonsdale Fire District's Board of Fire Wardens shall cause notice of the holding of

any election undertaken by the Lonsdale Fire District pursuant to this act to be given to all

electors of the district. Such notice shall be provided to the electors of the district by regular U.S.

mail, at least twenty (20) days prior to the date of the election, and shall be mailed to the last

known address of each registered elector in the District. This notice shall include, at a minimum,

the date, times, and polling location(s) of the election, as well as a copy of the text of the

question(s) to be voted on by the electors. In addition, the Lonsdale Fire District's Board of Fire

Wardens shall cause notice of the election to be published in a newspaper published on at least a

weekly basis and distributed within the Lonsdale Fire District, and said notice shall be published

at least twenty (20) days and then ten (10) days before the date of the election.

     SECTION 4. The qualified electors of the Lonsdale Fire District are hereby authorized

and empowered to vote to effectuate the dissolution of the Lonsdale Fire District as an

independent entity and to merge its operations with the Saylesville Fire District in accordance

with the resolutions adopted by the respective Boards of Fire Wardens. An affirmative vote of the

electors of both the Saylesville Fire District and the Lonsdale Fire District are needed to

effectuate the merger of the two (2) fire districts.

     SECTION 5. On May 27, 1896 the General Assembly adopted "An act to incorporate the

Saylesville Fire District." It was authorized to provide fire-related services for a geographically

described area within the town of Lincoln. The 1896 act has since been amended many times by

the General Assembly.

     SECTION 6. On April 14, 2016, Saylesville Board of Fire Wardens adopted a resolution

seeking General Assembly authorization to empower the electors of the Saylesville Fire District

to increase the size of the Saylesville Fire District to increase the geographic bounds of their

district and to authorize the Saylesville Board of Fire Wardens to take whatever actions it deems

appropriate and necessary to:

     (a) Accept the transfer of the assets from the Lonsdale Fire District; and

     (b) Accept any pension liability determined as of the date of dissolution of the Lonsdale

Fire District; and

     (c) Accept the transfer of the encumbered real estate of the Lonsdale Fire District, subject

to any of its mortgages; and

     (d) Execute any and all documents necessary to effectuate the transfer of the Lonsdale

Fire District's real estate and any encumbrance thereon.

     SECTION 7. The Saylesville Fire District's Board of Fire Wardens is authorized to take

whatever actions they deem appropriate to effectuate its acquisition of the Lonsdale Fire District,

in accordance with the districts' resolutions of their respective Boards of Fire Wardens and upon

approval by the electors of each district. The Saylesville Fire District's Board of Fire Wardens

shall cause notice of the holding of any election undertaken by the Saylesville Fire District

pursuant to this act to be given to all electors of the district. Such notice shall be provided to the

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electors of the district by regular U.S. mail, at least twenty (20) days prior to the date of the

election, and shall be mailed to the last known address of each registered elector in the District.

This notice shall include, at a minimum, the date, times, and polling location(s) of the election, as

well as a copy of the text of the question(s) to be voted on by the electors. In addition, the

Saylesville Fire District's Board of Fire Wardens shall cause notice of the election to be published

in a newspaper published on at least a weekly basis and distributed within the Saylesville Fire

District, and said notice shall be published at least twenty (20) days and then ten (10) days before

the date of the election.

     SECTION 8. The qualified electors of the Saylesville Fire District are hereby authorized

and empowered to vote to increase the geographical bounds of their district to include all the area

that currently constitutes the Lonsdale Fire District and further described in section 1 of the 1896

incorporation act, as amended, under the terms and conditions set forth in its Fire Wardens' April

14, 2016, resolution.

     SECTION 9. An affirmative vote of the electors of both the Saylesville Fire District and

the Lonsdale Fire District shall be needed to effectuate the merger of the two (2) fire districts.

     SECTION 10. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO THE MERGER OF THE LONSDALE FIRE DISTRICT INTO THE

SAYLESVILLE FIRE DISTRICT

***

     This act would authorize the dissolution of the operation of the Lonsdale Fire District as

an independent fire district and would transfer its responsibilities, assets and liabilities to the

Saylesville Fire District upon the affirmative vote of the electors of both fire districts.

     This act would require notice be given by the fire districts to the electors prior to the

election.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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