Chapter 020

Chapter 020

2003 -- S 0111

Enacted 03/14/03

 

A N  A C T

AUTHORIZING THE TOWN OF JAMESTOWN TO FINANCE THE INSTALLATION,

EXPANSION, CONSTRUCTION AND IMPROVEMENT OF SEWERS, STORM DRAINS,

PUMPING STATIONS AND SEWAGE TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL FACILITIES, TO

ISSUE NOT MORE THAN $2,000,000 BONDS AND NOTES THEREFOR AND TO IMPOSE

ADDITIONAL SEWER SERVICE CHARGES UNDER CHAPTER 233 OF THE PUBLIC

LAWS OF 1973, AS AMENDED, TO PAY THE PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST ON SUCH

BONDS AND NOTES

     

     Introduced By: Senator M. Teresa Paiva-Weed

     Date Introduced: January 22, 2003

 

 

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

 

     SECTION 1. The town of Jamestown is hereby empowered, in addition to authority

previously granted, to issue bonds to an amount not exceeding Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000)

from time to time under its corporate name and seal or a facsimile of such seal. The bonds of each

issue may be issued in the form of serial bonds or term bonds or a combination thereof and shall

be payable either by maturity of principal in the case of serial bonds or by mandatory serial

redemption in the case of term bonds, in annual installments of principal, the first installment to

be not later than five years and the last installment not later than thirty years after the date of the

bonds. For each issue the amounts payable annually for principal and interest combined either

shall be as nearly equal from year to year as is practicable in the opinion of the officers authorized

to issue the bonds, or shall be arranged in accordance with a schedule providing for a more rapid

amortization of principal.

     SECTION 2. The bonds shall be signed by the manual or facsimile signatures of the

finance director of the town and the president of the Town Council and shall be issued and sold in

such amounts as the Town Council may authorize by resolution. The manner of sale,

denominations, maturities, interest rates and other terms, conditions and details of any bonds or

notes issued under this act may be fixed by the resolution of the Town Council authorizing the

issue or by separate resolution of the Town Council or, to the extent provisions for these matters

are not so made, they may be fixed by the officers authorized to sign the bonds or notes. The

proceeds derived from the sale of the bonds shall be delivered to the finance director, and such

proceeds, exclusive of premiums and accrued interest, shall be expended for (a) the installation,

expansion, construction and improvement of sewers, storm drains, pumping stations and sewage

treatment and disposal facilities which may include constructing, installing and reconstructing

pumping stations, sewers, sewage treatment and disposal facilities, storm drains and incidental

road reconstruction, (b) in payment of the principal of or interest on temporary notes issued under

Section 3 of this act, or (c) in repayment of advances under Section 4 of this act. No purchaser of

any bonds or notes under this act shall be in any way responsible for the proper application of the

proceeds derived from the sale thereof. The projects shall be carried out and all contracts made

therefor on behalf of the Town by the Town Council or as may be otherwise directed by the Town

Council. The proceeds of bonds or notes issued under this act, any applicable federal or state

assistance and the other monies referred to in Section 6 of this act shall be deemed appropriated

for the purposes of this act without further action than that required by this act. The bond issue

authorized by this act may be consolidated for the purposes of issuance and sale with any other

bond issue of the town heretofore or hereafter authorized, provided that notwithstanding any such

consolidation, the proceeds from the sale of the bonds authorized by this act shall be expended for

the purposes set forth above.

     SECTION 3. The Town Council may by resolution authorize the issue from time to time

of interest bearing or discounted notes in anticipation of the authorization or issue of bonds or in

anticipation of the receipt of federal or state aid for the purposes of this act. The amount of

original notes issued in anticipation of bonds may not exceed the amount of bonds which may be

issued under this act and the amount of original notes issued in anticipation of federal or state aid

may not exceed the amount of available federal or state aid as estimated by the finance director.

Temporary notes issued hereunder shall be signed by the finance director and by the president of

the Town Council and shall be payable within five years from their respective dates, but the

principal of and interest on notes issued for a shorter period may be renewed or paid from time to

time by the issue of other notes hereunder, provided the period from the date of an original note

to the maturity of any note issued to renew or pay the same debt or the interest thereon shall not

exceed five years.

     SECTION 4. Pending any authorization or issue of bonds hereunder or pending or in lieu

of any authorization or issue of notes hereunder, the finance director, with the approval of the

Town Council, may, to the extent that bonds or notes may be issued hereunder, apply funds in the

treasury of the Town to the purposes specified in section two, such advances to be repaid without

interest from the proceeds of bonds or notes subsequently issued or from the proceeds of

applicable federal or state assistance or from other available funds.

     SECTION 5. Any proceeds of bonds or notes issued hereunder or of any applicable

federal or state assistance, pending their expenditure, may be deposited or invested by the finance

director, in demand deposits, time deposits or savings deposits in banks which are members of the

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or in obligations issued or guaranteed by the United States

of America or by any agency or instrumentality thereof or as may be provided in any other

applicable law of the State of Rhode Island.

     SECTION 6. Any accrued interest received upon the sale of bonds or notes hereunder

shall be applied to the payment of the first interest due thereon. Any premiums arising from the

sale of bonds or notes hereunder and any earnings or net profit realized from the deposit or

investment of funds hereunder shall, in the discretion of the finance director, be applied to the

cost of preparing, issuing and marketing bonds or notes hereunder to the extent not otherwise

provided, to the payment of the cost of the projects or to the cost of additional improvements

coming within the description of the projects in Section 2 of this act, to the payment of the

principal of or interest on bonds or notes issued hereunder or to any one or more of the foregoing.

The cost of preparing, issuing and marketing bonds or notes hereunder may also, in the discretion

of the finance director, be met from bond or note proceeds exclusive of accrued interest or from

other monies available therefor. Any balance of bond or note proceeds remaining after payment

of the cost of the projects and said additional improvements and the cost of preparing, issuing and

marketing bonds or notes hereunder shall be applied to the payment of the principal of or interest

on bonds or notes issued hereunder. In exercising any discretion under this section, the finance

director shall be governed by any instructions adopted by resolution of the Town Council. The

finance director is authorized to take any action deemed by him or her necessary to assure that

interest on the bonds or notes issued hereunder remains excludable from gross income of the

recipients thereof for federal income tax purposes, including, without limitation, paying to the

federal government any rebate of earnings derived from the deposit or reinvestment of the

proceeds of such bonds or notes that may be required therefor and (2) to comply with the

requirements of federal law, including without being limited to regulations and other

requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Municipal Securities

Rulemaking Board, imposed directly on the Town or on the underwriters of such bonds and

notes.

     SECTION 7. All bonds or notes issued under this act and the debts evidenced thereby

shall be obligatory on the town in the same manner and to the same extent as other debts lawfully

contracted by it and shall be excepted from the operation of section 45-12-2 of the General Laws.

No such obligation shall at any time be included in the debt of the town for the purpose of

ascertaining its borrowing capacity. The Town Council, acting as the Board of Water Sewer

Commissioners under Chapter 12 of the public laws on 1975, may fix and revise from time to

time sewer service charges under Chapter 233 of the public laws of 1973 to pay all or any part of

the principal and interest coming due with the year on bonds and notes issued hereunder. The

town shall annually appropriate a sum sufficient to pay the principal and interest coming due

within the year on bonds and notes issued hereunder to the extent that moneys therefor are not

provided by such sewer service charges or otherwise. If such sum is not appropriated, it shall

nevertheless be added to the annual tax levy. In order to provide such sum in each year and

notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, all taxable property in the town shall be

subject to ad valorem taxation by the town with limitation as to rate or amount.

     SECTION 8. Any bonds or notes issued under the provisions of this act, if properly

executed by officers of the town in office on the date of execution, shall be valid and binding

according to their terms notwithstanding that before the delivery thereof and payment therefor

any or all of such officers shall for any reason have ceased to hold office.

     SECTION 9. The town, acting by resolution of its Town Council, is authorized to apply

for, contract for and expend any federal or state advances or other grants or assistance which may

be available for the purposes of this act, and any such expenditures may be in addition to other

moneys provided in this act. To the extent of any inconsistency between any law of this state and

any applicable federal law or regulation, the latter shall prevail. Federal and state advances, with

interest where applicable, whether contracted for prior to or after the effective date of this act,

may be repaid as project costs under Section 2.

     SECTION 10. Bonds and notes may be issued under this act without obtaining the

approval of any governmental agency or the taking of any proceedings or the happening of any

conditions except as specifically required by this act for such issue. Without limiting the

generality of the foregoing, bonds and notes may be issued under this act without any action at

the financial town meeting. In carrying out any project financed in whole or in part under this

act, including where applicable the condemnation of any land or interest in land, and in the levy

and collection of assessments or other charges permitted by law on account of any such project,

all action shall be taken which is necessary to meet constitutional requirements whether or not

such action is otherwise required by statute; but the validity of bonds and notes issued hereunder

shall in no way depend upon the validity or occurrence of such action. To the extent of any

inconsistency between this act and the Town Charter, this act shall prevail.

     SECTION 11. The provisions of Chapter 12.2 of Title 46, as amended, of the General

Laws shall apply to the issuance of bonds and notes under this act.

     SECTION 12. The question of the approval of this act shall be submitted to the electors

of the town at an election to be held on a date to be determined by the Town Council which

occurs at least thirty days after the passage of this act. The question shall be submitted in

substantially the following form: “Shall an act, passed at the 2003 session of the General

Assembly, entitled ‘AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE TOWN OF JAMESTOWN TO FINANCE

THE INSTALLATION, EXPANSION, CONSTRUCTION AND IMPROVEMENT OF

SEWERS, STORM DRAINS, PUMPING STATIONS AND SEWAGE TREATMENT AND

DISPOSAL FACILITIES, TO ISSUE NOT MORE THAN $2,000,000 BONDS AND NOTES

THEREFOR AND TO IMPOSE ADDITIONAL SEWER SERVICE CHARGES UNDER

CHAPTER 233 OF THE PUBLIC LAWS OF 1973, AS AMENDED, TO PAY THE

PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST ON SUCH BONDS AND NOTES’ be approved?” and the

warning for the election shall contain the question to be submitted. The Town Board of

Canvassers may combine any two or more voting districts for the election and when so combined

shall be treated as a voting district. If so combined, the Town Board of Canvassers shall advertise

the combination of districts in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town. From the time the

election is warned and until it is held, it shall be the duty of the Town Clerk to keep a copy of the

act available at his or her office for public inspection, but the validity of the election shall not be

affected by this requirement.

     SECTION 13. This section and Section 12 shall take effect upon passage. The remainder

of this act shall take effect upon the approval of this act by a majority of those voting on the

question at the election prescribed by Section 12.

     

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LC00725

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