Chapter
298
2005 -- S 1201
Enacted 07/15/05
A N A C T
AUTHORIZING THE TOWN OF LINCOLN TO ISSUE GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS AND NOTES IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED THREE MILLION DOLLARS FOR THE PURPOSE OF ACQUIRING AND PRESERVING OPEN SPACE AND ACQUIRING, PRESERVING, CONSTRUCTING OR IMPROVING RECREATIONAL FACILITIES IN THE TOWN
Introduced By: Senator J Montalbano
Date
Introduced: June 28, 2005
It is
enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. The Town of Lincoln is hereby empowered, in addition to authority
previously
granted, to issue general obligation bonds, notes or other evidence of
indebtedness to
an
amount not exceeding Three Million Dollars ($3,000,000) from time to time under
its
corporate
name and seal. The terms bonds and notes shall include other evidence of
indebtedness.
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 (5) years and the last installment not
later than thirty (30)
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 director of finance, the president of the
town
council and the town administrator and shall be issued and sold in such amounts
as the town
council
may authorize. The manner of sale, denominations, maturities, interest rates,
redemption
provisions
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 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 director of finance, and such proceeds, exclusive of
premiums and
accrued
interest, shall be expended (a) for acquiring and preserving open space and
acquiring,
preserving,
restoring, constructing or improving recreational facilities in the Town or (b)
in
payment
of principal or interest on temporary notes issued under Section three or (c)
in
repayment
of advances under Section four or (d) in payment of costs of issuance for bonds
or
notes
issued hereunder including capitalized interest. 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
town administrator subject to the approval of the town council. Notwithstanding
any
other
law, regulation or policy to the contrary, the provisions of Section 7-5 of the
town charter
shall
apply to such contracts. The proceeds of bonds or notes issued under this act,
any applicable
federal
or state assistance and the other moneys referred to in section six shall be
deemed
appropriated
for the purpose of this act without further action than that required buy this
act.
SECTION
3. The town council may be resolution authorize the issue from time to time of
interest
bearing or discounted notes in anticipation of the 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 director of finance.
Temporary notes
issued
hereunder shall be signed by the director of finance, the president of the town
council and
the
town administrator 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.
SECTION
4. Pending any authorization or issue of bonds hereunder or pending or in lieu
of any
authorization or issue of notes hereunder, the director of finance, 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 director
of
finance 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
the bonds or notes hereunder shall, in the discretion of the director of
finance, 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 project, to the payment of the
principal of or
interest
on bonds or notes issued hereunder or to any one (1) or more of the foregoing.
The cost of
preparing,
issuing and marketing bonds or notes issued hereunder may also, in the
discretion of
the
director of finance, be met from bond or note proceeds exclusive of accrued
interest or from
other
moneys available therefore. Any balance of bond or note proceeds for ancillary
costs
remaining
after payment of such costs may be applied to the cost of a project authorized
in
Section
2 hereof. Any balance of bond or note proceeds remaining after payment of the
cost of a
project
and the cost of preparing, issuing and marketing bonds or notes hereunder may
be applied
to any
other project authorized in Section 2 hereof or may be applied to the payment
of the
principal
of or interest on bonds or notes issued hereunder, as provided in a resolution
of the town
council.
Any earnings or net profit realized from the deposit or investment of funds
hereunder
may,
upon receipt, be added to and dealt with as part of the revenues of the town
from property
taxes. In
exercising any discretion under this section, the director of finance shall be
governed by
any
instructions adopted by resolution of the town council.
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
obligations 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 therefore are not otherwise provided. If such sum is not
appropriated, it shall
nevertheless
e 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 without limitation as to rate or
amount, except as
otherwise
provided in tax concessions authorized pursuant to Chapter 3798 of the Public
Laws of
1956.
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
therefore
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 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, 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.
SECTION
11. The question of the approval of this act shall be submitted to the electors
of the
town at a general or special election to be held on a date as shall be
designated by the town
council.
The question shall be submitted in substantially the following form:
"Shall an act, passed
at the
2005 session of the general assembly, entitled 'AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE TOWN OF
LINCOLN
TO ISSUE GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS AND NOTES IN ANA MOUNT
NOT TO
EXCEED THREE MILLION DOLLARS ($3,000,000) FOR THE PURPOSE OF
ACQUIRING
AND PRESERVING OPEN SPACE AND ACQUIRING, PRESERVING,
CONSTRUCTING
OR IMPROVING RECREATIONAL FACILITIES IN THE TOWN' be
approved?"
The
warning for the election shall contain the question 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 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
12. Sections 11 and 12 shall take effect upon passage of this act. 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 the foregoing
section.
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LC03611
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