2019 -- S 0450

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LC001510

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2019

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A N   A C T

IN AMENDMENT TO THE CHARTER OF THE CENTRAL COVENTRY FIRE DISTRICT

PURSUANT TO A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE COVENTRY

FIRE DISTRICT ON DECEMBER 27, 2018

     Introduced By: Senators Raptakis, and Rogers

     Date Introduced: February 27, 2019

     Referred To: Senate Housing & Municipal Government

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     AN ACT IN AMENDMENT TO THE CHARTER OF THE CENTRAL COVENTRY

FIRE DISTRICT PURSUANT TO A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF

THE COVENTRY FIRE DISTRICT ADOPTED ON DECEMBER 27, 2018.

     SECTION 1. Sections 3 through 14 of Chapter 492 of the Public Laws of 2006, entitled

"AN ACT IN AMENDMENT OF THE INCORPORATION OF THE CENTRAL COVENTRY

FIRE DISTRICT IN FURTHERANCE OF THE "CONSOLIDATION PLAN" OF THE

CENTRAL COVENTRY FIRE DISTRICT, THE WASHINGTON LIGHTING DISTRICT, THE

HARRIS FIRE & LIGHTING DISTRICT AND THE TIOGUE FIRE DISTRICT, AS

APPROVED BY THE QUALIFIED VOTERS OF SAID DISTRICTS, AT DULY CALLED

MEETINGS HELD ON MARCH 28, 2006" are hereby amended to read as follows:

     Sec. 3. FIRST CONSOLIDATED DISTRICT MEETING AND ANNUAL MEETINGS

OF THE CONSOLIDATED FIRE DISTRICT ANNUAL MEETINGS OF THE FIRE

DISTRICT.

     (a) 2006 - First consolidated meeting:

     Commencing in the year 2006, a special meeting of the consolidated district shall be held

within thirty (30) days of the amendment of this Charter by and among the Boards of Directors of

Central Coventry Fire District, the Washington Lighting District, the Harris Fire & Lighting

District and the Tiogue Fire District for the purposes of constituting the first Board of Directors of

the consolidated district, in accordance with Section 5 herein and for adopting the initial by-laws

for the Consolidated District.

     (b)(a) Annual Meetings & Quorum: Annual meetings of said fire district District for the

election of officers and the transaction of any other business of the fire district shall be held.

Twenty five (25) qualified voters shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any

meeting of the corporation. Commencing in 2007 and continuing annually thereafter, the district

The District shall hold an annual meeting in a public place on the second third Monday in

September, at 7:00 P.M. at such place within the District as the Board shall determine, for the

purposes of: (1) electing a Board of Directors; (2) authorizing the assessment of all the taxable

personal and real property of the District; (3) authorizing the collection of taxes, as further set

forth in Section 6 hereunder; (4) authorizing an annual budget to provide for the purchase and

maintenance of equipment, apparatus, real and personal property, the payment of wages and

salaries, and for such other expenditures deemed necessary by the qualified voters of the District;

and (5) For such other lawful purposes deemed necessary and proper by either the Board of

Directors or qualified voters of the district.

     (c)(b) Call of the Meeting:

     The Clerk of the District shall give notice of the annual meetings by causing a copy

thereof to be posted at least twice in some newspaper in the Kent County Times, the Reminder, or

a similar newspaper of general circulation distributed in Kent County, and posted in each fire

station of the District not less than sixty (60) thirty (30) days prior to the meeting date and

thereafter, at least seven (7) days prior to the meeting date.

     The annual meeting and all other meetings of the District shall be held in a public place,

which shall be accessible to the handicapped, pursuant to the requirements of the Rhode Island

Constitution, Article 1 & 2 and applicable federal and state non-discrimination laws.

     Sec. 4. SPECIAL MEETINGS

     (a) Special meetings of the fire District may be called upon written request of not less

than twenty-five (25) one hundred (100) qualified voters, or may be called by a majority vote of

the board of Directors. Written application for a special meeting of the fire District as well as the

notice thereof, shall mention the reason for such special meeting. Notice of the special meeting of

the fire District shall be given in the same manner as the annual meeting not less than thirty (30)

days prior to the date of the meeting and thereafter, at least seven (7) days prior to the date of the

meeting. The purpose of the special meeting of the fire District shall be stated in the notice and

call for meeting and no other business shall be transacted.

     (b) Any special meeting called for the purpose of filling a vacancy among district officers

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shall be advertised in the same manner as the annual meeting, as set forth in Section 3 (c) of this

Charter. Nothing herein shall prohibit the Board of Directors from calling such special Board of

Directors meetings, or Board work session or workshops as they may from time to time require,

so long as said meetings comply with the Rhode Island Open Meetings Act, chapter 46 of title 42.

     Sec. 5. DIRECTORS & OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION –MODERATOR -

QUALIFICATIONS

     (a) The consolidated district board District Board shall be comprised of seven (7)

Directors. directors, none of whom shall be then serving as a Treasurer or Tax Collector of any

individual district, appointed by the respective Boards of each individual fire district and shall be

constituted as follows: Two (2) members shall be appointed by the Central Coventry Fire District;

Two (2) members shall be appointed by the Central Washington Fire District; One (1) member

shall be appointed by the Harris Fire District; One (1) member shall be appointed by the Tiogue

Fire District; the final member shall be appointed by the preceding six (6) members and may be

from any of the individual fire districts. The consolidated district Board of Directors shall elect a

President and Vice President, and all seven (7) Directors shall be qualified to serve in office until

at least the next annual meeting. Board member shall serve three (3) year terms, staggered by the

year in which they were elected. Therefore, Board members elected in 2018 would be up for

reelection in 2021. At the first meeting of the consolidated district, the Board shall determine by

some acceptable means, the order in which the members’ seats shall come up for election.

     (b) Thereafter, three (3) Directors will be elected to a three (3) year term at the 2007

annual meeting and every third year thereafter. Two (2) directors shall be elected at the 2008

annual meeting and every third year thereafter. Two (2) Directors shall be elected at the 2009

annual meeting and every third year thereafter.

     (c)(b) Any inhabitant qualified to vote at any District meeting, may be a candidate for

District office, provided, however, that no one who is employed by the District, as a firefighter, or

employed by another fire District in the Town of Coventry, or employed by the Town of

Coventry, or the State of Rhode Island, or is an immediate family member of a District employee

shall be a candidate for District office. Such such candidate submits must submit to the District

clerk Clerk the title of the elective office sought, together with a petition signed by twenty (20)

inhabitants qualified to vote at any District meeting, at least sixty (60) days prior to the date of the

meeting, This list of signatures is to be certified by the clerk District Clerk no later than thirty

(30) days prior to an annual or special meeting of the fire District.

     (d)(c) The clerk Clerk of the District shall post in a conspicuous place a list of all persons

certified to stand for election and the office to which each person seeks election in at least eight

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(8) public places within the district District, including all actively used District stations, at least

twenty (20) days prior to the annual meeting or any other special meeting called for the election

of officers.

     (e)(d) The Board of Directors shall have the power to declare an office vacant if the

person filling that office fails to attend three (3) consecutive monthly meetings of the Board

without prior notification to the Board. The Board is authorized to excuse the absence of a

Director from any meeting.

     (f) In the event that a vacancy in any elective office of the District occurs, the president or

clerk shall call a meeting of the Board of Directors of the district within ten (10) working days

after such vacancy occurs. The Board of Directors shall select a qualified elector of the District to

fill the vacancy for a period of up to sixty (60) days.

     (g) Upon the occurrence of any vacancy in any elective office of the District, the

president shall call a special meeting of the District for the purpose of electing a qualified elector

to fill the office vacated for the remainder of the original term of office. Said special meeting

shall be held within sixty-five (65) days from the date such original vacancy occurs.

     (e) If a vacancy shall occur on the Board, the President or Clerk shall call a meeting of

the Board of Directors of the District within ten (10) working days after such vacancy shall occur.

The remaining Board members shall appoint a replacement to fill the vacancy until the next

regular election of officers, at which time the vacant position shall be filled through an election

for the balance of the term.

     Sec. 6. DUTIES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

     (a) The Board of Directors shall hold monthly public meetings to conduct the business of

the District. The Board of Directors shall be empowered and responsible to: (1) Fix the amount of

the bond of the the Finance Director or Treasurer and the Tax Collector; (2) Order payment of the

district’s District's bills and indebtedness; (3) Be in charge of and supervise the care of the

district’s District's properties; (4) Cause district District property to be insured; (5) Purchase

equipment, property and apparatus as required by the District’s needs and budget; (6) Appoint an

Administrative a Fire Chief, Tax Collector and Treasurer and other employees. No less than one

half (1/2) of the members of the Board of Directors shall constitute a quorum at any meeting of

the Board.

     (b) The foregoing list of duties shall not be deemed to be limiting and the directors Board

of Directors shall have all necessary authority to operate and conduct the business of the District

as necessary, all within the bounds of the laws of the State of Rhode Island. The Board of

Directors shall have the power to appoint and/or employ a tax assessor, tax collector, treasurer,

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clerk, and other committees and/or positions deemed necessary for the efficient operation of the

District.

     (c) The members of the Board of Directors and any official appointed by said Board of

Directors shall be subject to the Rhode Island Code of Ethics in Government, Chapter 14 of Title

36 of the Rhode Island General Laws.

     (d) The president President of said District shall preside at all annual and special

meetings as moderator; in his/her absence the vice president Vice President shall serve as

moderator; in the absence of both, a temporary moderator may be elected by a majority of voters

present and voting.

     (e) The administrative duties of these Directors shall be specified in the by-laws By-Laws

of the fire district District.

     (f) Recall of Director(s).

     Any Director, having been in office for at least six (6) months, may be removed from

office by a recall petition prepared and approved by the voters of the District in the manner

hereinafter provided.

     Upon application by a registered voter of the District, the Clerk of the District shall issue

recall petition blanks, which shall be dated, which shall demand the removal of the designated

Director, which shall also state the cause upon which the removal is sought. The petition is to be

filed with the Clerk of the District within thirty (30) days after issuance to be in order for the

certification process.

     The signatures to a recall petition need not all be appended to a single paper, but each

signer shall add his or her signature as the same appears on the Board of Canvassers and

Registration’s records, and the signer’s place of residence, giving the street name and number.

One of the signers shall take an oath before an officer competent to administer oaths that the

statement therein made is true, as the signer believes, and that each signature to the paper

appended is the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be.

     The recall petition shall be signed by at least twenty percent (20%) of the registered

voters of the District for certification purposes. The petition is to be submitted by the Clerk of the

District to the Coventry Board of Canvassers and Registration for certification forthwith. If the

petition shall be found and certified by the Board of Canvassers and Registration to be sufficient,

within ten (10) days said Board shall submit the same to the Board of Directors without delay; the

Board of Directors shall order an election to be held on a Monday fixed by it no more than

seventy-five (75) days after the date of the Board of Canvassers and Registration’s certificate that

a sufficient petition is filed. However, if the annual meeting is to occur within ninety (90) days

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after the date of the certification, the Board of Directors shall postpone the holding of the recall

election to the date of said annual meeting.

     Sec. 7. TAXING AUTHORITY - TAX ASSESSOR

     (a) Said qualified voters at any of their legal meetings shall have the power to order such

taxes and provide for the assessing and collecting of the same on the taxable inhabitants and

property in said district District as they shall deem necessary for purchasing fire engines, and all

other implements and apparatus for the extinguishing of fire; for the purchase of land and

buildings for keeping same; for the purchasing, installation, operation and maintenance of a

suitable alarm system; for making cisterns and reservoirs; for paying the salaries of district

District officers and employees, as well as the members of the rescue unit known as Central

Coventry Rescue. And such taxes, so ordered, shall be assessed by the assessors of said district

District on the taxable inhabitants and property therein according to the last valuation made by

the assessors of the town of Coventry next previous to said assessment, adding, however, any

taxable property which may have been omitted by said town assessors or afterwards acquired; and

in assessing and collecting said taxes such proceedings shall be had by the officers of said district

District, as near as may be, as are required to be had by the corresponding officers of towns in

assessing and collecting taxes.

     (b) The qualified voters of the Central Coventry Fire District are also authorized to raise

money through taxes to purchase the necessary vehicles and equipment to operate and maintain a

rescue unit to be known as the Central Coventry Rescue.

     (c) TAX ASSESSOR

     There shall be at least one District Tax Assessor, who may also serve as District Clerk,

who shall be appointed or employed by the District Board of Directors. The tax assessor shall

levy and assess taxes at such rate as the district shall vote, on all taxable real and personal

property in the district and shall prepare and deposit the tax list with the tax collector and

treasurer of the district; said board shall assess property on the basis of the last valuation made by

the assessors of the Town of Coventry next previous to said assessment. The Assessor shall be

responsible to certify the tax roll prior to the annual meeting and shall report the same to the

Board of Directors.

     Sec. 8. DISTRICT CLERK

     There shall be a District Clerk who shall be appointed or employed by the District. The

clerk Clerk shall keep full, fair and accurate records and minutes of the meetings of the Board of

Directors and district District meetings and shall make said minutes available to members of the

public, in accordance with the Rhode Island Public Records Act, Chapter 2 of Title 38 of the

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Rhode Island General Laws. The Clerk shall be responsible to give notice of District meetings as

set forth under the provisions of this Charter and pursuant to the Rhode Island Open Meetings

Laws, Chapter 46 of Title 42 of the Rhode Island General Laws. The clerk Clerk shall maintain a

current copy of the District Charter and by–laws By-Laws.

     Sec. 9. DISTRICT TREASURER There shall be a District Treasurer who shall be

appointed or employed by the District. FINANCE DIRECTOR -- TREASURER

     The Board of Directors shall be empowered to employ a Finance Director or Treasurer,

as the same shall be referred to. The Treasurer shall position shall be responsible for management

and administration of the District, except for fire department operations, which shall be the

purview of a fire chief, and shall be responsible to and shall report to the Board of Directors

monthly. This person shall have a degree in accounting or a Certified Public Accountant (“CPA”)

designation as minimum criteria. The following shall also be included as the duties and

responsibilities of this position, as may be modified from time to time by the Board of Directors:

     The position shall account for receive all money paid to the District and deposit ensure

that the same in is deposited into such federally insured bank or banking system institution as

shall be designated by the Board of Directors to the credit of the District, provided that in the

event of a surplus of funds, the Board of Directors may direct deposits to be made in a savings

account in some federally insured banking institution. The Treasurer position shall sign all duly

authorized distinct District notes and bonds and shall be bonded in an amount to be determined by

the Board of Directors. The Treasurer position shall pay all District obligations by check, or by

way of an automated clearing house (ACH), provided the same are within the spending authority

established by the qualified electors at the annual meeting; otherwise, such expenditures shall be

as approved by the Board of Directors. The position shall and shall close the books as of the last

day of each fiscal year. The Treasurer position shall submit a report to the Board of Directors

monthly. The Treasurer position shall at every annual meeting, fully report the condition of the

treasury of the District, showing receipts and expenditures of the preceding year.

     In addition to the foregoing, the position shall oversee all financial operations of the

District and direct financial planning and structure, coordinate, analyze and report the financial

performance to the Board; prepare short and long-term financial forecasts of financial

performance for use with internal management and external parties; oversee audit functions;

develop, implement and maintain accounting and administrative policies and procedures for

financial accounting, employee relations and other District policies; coordinate all human

resource activities including employee benefits, retirement, corporate insurance and related

activities.

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     Sec. 10. TAX COLLECTOR

     There shall be a District Tax Collector who shall be appointed or employed by the

District. The tax collector Tax Collector shall collect and pay to the District treasurer cause to be

deposited into a federally insured bank or banking institution as designated by the Board of

Directors all taxes and interest collected by him/her as and when received and shall be bonded in

a sum fixed by the Board of Directors; shall close his or her books as of the last day of each fiscal

year and shall prepare and present a written report to the annual meeting; shall submit a written

report to the treasurer Board of Directors monthly; shall consult an attorney approved by the

Board when legal action is necessary for the collection of unpaid taxes, including being

responsible for holding an annual tax sale on property to satisfy unpaid taxes owed to the District;

and shall be responsible for the preparation of the tax roll.

     Sec. 11. BY-LAWS

     The qualified voters of said district District may enact all by-laws By-Laws by them

adjudged necessary and expedient for carrying the provisions of this act into effect, provided the

same be not in violation of or repugnant to the laws of this state.

     The qualified voters may change any provision of the by-laws By-Laws at any annual or

special meeting, provided the proposed change has been noticed in the call of the meeting.

     Sec. 12. AUTHORIZATION TO BORROW FUNDS

     The Central Coventry fire district Fire District is hereby authorized and empowered to

borrow from time to time such sums of money as may be necessary, not however, to exceed the

sum of one-half (1/2) of the annual operating budget, for the purpose of procuring real and

personal estate, the erection and maintenance of buildings, the procuring of fire and water

apparatus, for the payment of any legal indebtedness of said district, or for the purpose of

purchasing or procuring any other property, real or personal, that may be legally acquired and

held by said district sums of money as may be necessary in anticipation of current taxes and

revenues.

     Sec. 13. The Central Coventry fire district is authorized to install lighting on the streets

and highways of the district; provided, however, that any new installation of lighting shall be

required to use Light-Emitting Diode ("LED") or other energy-reducing technology to lower the

cost of said lighting.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

IN AMENDMENT TO THE CHARTER OF THE CENTRAL COVENTRY FIRE DISTRICT

PURSUANT TO A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE COVENTRY

FIRE DISTRICT ON DECEMBER 27, 2018

***

     This act would make various amendments pertaining to the duties and operations of the

Central Coventry Fire District.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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