Chapter 421
2004 -- S 3175
Enacted 07/05/04
A N A C T
AUTHORIZING
THE TOWN OF SMITHFIELD TO ISSUE NOT EXCEEDING $20,850,000 GENERAL OBLIGATION
BONDS OR NOTES FOR LAND ACQUISITION AND LIBRARY CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
Introduced
By: Senator John J. Tassoni
Date
Introduced: June 09, 2004
It
is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. The Town of Smithfield is hereby empowered, in addition to authority
previously
granted, to issue it general obligation bonds and notes to an amount not
exceeding
twenty
million eight hundred fifty thousand dollars ($20,850,000) at one time or from
time to
time
under its corporate name and seal or a facsimile of such seal to finance land
acquisition,
library
construction, and related costs as more fully set forth in section two. The
bonds of each
issue
shall mature in annual installments of principal, the first installment to be
not later than
three
(3) years and the last installment not later than twenty-five (25) years after
the date of the
bonds.
For each issue, the amounts payable annually for principal and interest
combined 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 town treasurer and countersigned by the
town
manager and the town clerk and shall be issued and sold in such amounts as the
town
council
may authorize by majority vote of all its members. The manner of sale,
denominations,
maturities,
interest rate or rates, award and other terms, conditions and details of any
bonds or
notes
issued under this act may be fixed by the proceedings of the town council
authorizing their
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.
The town
council
may provide that any bonds issued under this act and any other authorized issue
of bonds
of
the town may be consolidated and issued at the same time as a single bond
issue, provided that
the
last installment of the portion of any such consolidated issue that is
allocable to the bonds
issued
under this act shall not be later than the times specified by the applicable
provisions
hereof.
The bonds may be made callable with or without premium. The proceeds derived
from
the
sale of the bonds shall be delivered to the town treasurer, and such proceeds,
exclusive of
premiums
and accrued interest, shall be expended on those of the projects listed below
which are
approved
by the voters of Smithfield in accordance with Section 11 hereof:
(1)
for costs of acquiring land and/or interests in land for the Smithfield Land
Trust Open
Space
Program ($2,650,000);
(2)
for costs of acquiring land and/or interests in land for the Smithfield Land
Trust
Farmland
Conservation Program ($2,500,000);
(3)
for costs of acquiring land for school, library and related purposes (up to
$5,000,000
as
determined by the Smithfield Town Council); and/or
(4)
for costs of library construction ($10,700,000);
including
in each case all other costs incidental and related to the foregoing projects
and
their
financing pursuant to this act including, but not limited to, the payment of
the principal of or
interest
on temporary notes issued under section three and the repayment of advances
made under
section
four. 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
authorized 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 six
shall be
deemed
appropriated for the purposes of this act without further action than that
required by this
act.
SECTION
3. The town council may by resolution authorize the issuance from time to
time
of interest bearing or discounted notes in anticipation of the issue of bonds
under this act 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
town treasurer.
Temporary
notes issued hereunder shall be signed by the town treasurer and countersigned
by the
town
manager and the town clerk and shall be payable within five (5) 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 (5) years. The period for which bonds may be issued under
this act
need
not be reduced by the period of any temporary loans hereunder. The proceeds
derived from
the
sale of such temporary notes shall be used only for the purposes for which the
proceeds of
bonds
issued under this act may be used.
SECTION
4. Pending any issue of bonds or notes hereunder, the town treasurer, 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 for 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 town
treasurer
in demand deposits, time deposits or savings deposits in banks which are members
of
the
federal deposit insurance corporation, in obligations issued or guaranteed by
the United States
of
America or the State of Rhode Island, or by any agency or instrumentality or
political
subdivision
of either of them, 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 shall, in the discretion of the town treasurer, 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, 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 town
treasurer,
be
met from bond or note proceeds exclusive of premiums and accrued interest or
from other
moneys
available therefor. Any balance of bond or note proceeds remaining after
payment of the
cost
of the projects and the cost of preparing, issuing and marketing bonds or notes
hereunder
may
be applied to any project authorized under section two or to the payment of the
principal of
or
interest on bonds or notes issued hereunder. Any earnings or net profit
realized from the
deposit
or investment of funds hereunder shall upon receipt be added to and used for
the same
purposes
as the proceeds of bonds or notes issued hereunder. In exercising any
discretion under
this
section, the town treasurer shall be governed by any instructions adopted by
resolution of the
town
council. The treasurer 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
investment of the
proceeds
of such bonds or notes that may be required therefor.
SECTION
7. All bonds and 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 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 otherwise provided. 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 the law to the contrary, all taxable property in the town
shall be
subject
to ad valorem taxation by the town without limitation as to the
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 federal or state advances or other grants or assistance
which may be
available
for the purposes of the act, and any such expenditures may be in addition to
other
moneys
provided in the 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 two.
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. In carrying out any
project
financed
in whole or in part under this act, 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.
SECTION
11. The questions of the approval of the four (4) projects set forth in section
2
hereof
shall be submitted to the electors of the Town of Smithfield at the general
election to be
held
on November 2, 2004. The questions shall be submitted in substantially the
following form:
(1)
"Shall an act, passed at the 2004 session of the general assembly,
authorizing the
Town
of Smithfield to issue not exceeding $2,650,000 General Obligation Bonds or
Notes for the
purpose
of acquiring land and/or interests in land for the Smithfield Land Trust Open
Space
Program
be approved?"
(2)
"Shall an act, passed at the 2004 session of the general assembly,
authorizing the
Town
of Smithfield to issue not exceeding $2,500,000 General Obligation Bonds or
Notes for the
purpose
of acquiring land and/or interests in land for the Smithfield Land Trust
Farmland
Conservation
Program be approved?"
(3)
"Shall an act, passed at the 2004 session of the general assembly,
authorizing the
Town
of Smithfield to issue not exceeding $5,000,000 General Obligation Bonds or
Notes for the
purpose
of acquiring land for school, library and related purposes be approved?"
The Smithfield
Town
Council may decide by resolution to seek less than $5,000,000 for this bond
issue and
substitute
said lesser figure in the ballot question.
(4)
"Shall an act, passed at the 2004 session of the general assembly,
authorizing the
Town
of Smithfield to issue not exceeding $10,700,000 General Obligation Bonds or
Notes for
the
purpose of library construction be approved?"
The warning for the election shall contain the four (4) questions to be
submitted. 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 this act available at his or her office for public inspection, but the
validity of the election
shall
not be affected by this requirement.
SECTION
12. This section and section eleven shall take effect upon the passage of this
act.
The remainder of this act shall take effect upon the approval of one or more of
the four
questions
listed in section 11 hereof by a majority of those voting on the questions at
the election
prescribed
by the foregoing section.
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LC03589
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