Chapter
247
2006 -- S 3182
Enacted 07/03/06
A N A C T
AUTHORIZING
THE TOWN OF EAST GREENWICH TO FINANCE THE
CONSTRUCTION,
EQUIPPING AND FURNISHING OF A NEW SENIOR AND
COMMUNITY
CENTER IN THE TOWN BY THE ISSUANCE OF BONDS AND/OR NOTES THEREFOR
Introduced
By: Senators Lenihan, and Raptakis
Date
Introduced: June 20, 2006
It is enacted by the General Assembly as
follows:
SECTION 1. The
Town of East Greenwich is hereby empowered, in addition to authority
previously granted, to issue bonds to an amount
not exceeding four million dollars ($4,000,000)
or such lesser amount as is determined by
resolution of the town council pursuant to section 11
hereof, from time to time under its corporate
name and 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 five (5)
years and the last installment not later than
thirty (30) years after the date of the bonds. All such
bonds of a particular issue may be issued in the
form of zero coupon bonds, capital appreciation
bonds, serial bonds or term bonds or a
combination thereof. The amount of principal appreciation
each year on any bonds, after the date of
original issuance, shall not be considered to be principal
indebtedness for the purposes of any
constitutional or statutory debt limit or any other limitation.
The appreciation of principal after the date of
original issue shall be considered interest. Only the
original principal amount shall be counted in
determining the principal amount so issued and any
interest component shall be disregarded.
SECTION 2. The
bonds shall be signed by the manual or facsimile signatures of the town
director of finance 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 proceedings
of the town council authorizing the issue by
separate order or 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 as follows: (a) for the
purpose of financing the construction equipping
and furnishing of a new senior and community
center in the town ("the project"),
(b) in payment of the principal or of interest on temporary notes
issued under section three, (c) in repayment of
advances under section four, (d) in payment of the
costs associated with the issuance of bonds or
notes hereunder and/or (e) in payment of
capitalized interest during construction of the
project. 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 project shall be carried
out and contracts made therefore by the town
council on behalf of the town. The proceeds of
bonds or notes issued under this act, any
applicable federal or state assistance and the
other monies referred to in sections six and nine
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. The town finance
director and the president of the town council,
on behalf of the town, are hereby authorized to
execute such instruments, documents or other
papers as either of them deem necessary or
desirable to carry out the intent of this act
and are also authorized to take all actions and execute
such instruments, documents or agreements
necessary to comply with federal tax and securities
laws, which documents or agreements may have a
term coextensive with the maturity of the
bonds authorized hereby.
SECTION 3. The
town council may by resolution authorize the issuance from time to
time of interest bearing or discounted notes in
anticipation 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 available 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 manual or facsimile signatures of
the director of finance and the president of the
town council 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 town may pay the
principal of and interest on notes in full from other
than the issuance of refunding notes prior to
the issuance of bonds pursuant to Section 1 hereof.
In such case, the town's authority to issue
bonds or notes in anticipation of bonds under this act
shall continue provided that: (1) the town
council passes a resolution evidencing to town's intent
to pay off the notes and (2) that the period
from the date of an original note to maturity date of
any other note shall not exceed five (5) years.
Any temporary notes in anticipation of the bonds
issued under this section may be refunded prior
to the maturity of the notes by the issuance of
additional temporary notes, provided that no
such refunding shall result in any amount of such
temporary notes outstanding at any one time in
excess of two hundred percent (200%) of the
amount of the bonds which may be issued under
this act, and provided further that if the issuance
of any such refunding notes results in any amount
of such temporary notes outstanding at any
one time in excess of the amount of bonds which
may be issued under this act, the proceeds of
such refunding notes shall be deposited in a
separate fund established with the bank that is paying
agent for the notes being refunded. Pending
their use to pay the notes being refunded, moneys in
the fund shall be invested for the benefit of
the town by the paying agent at the direction of the
director of finance in any investment permitted under
section five. The moneys in the fund and
any investments held as a part of the fund shall
be held in trust and shall be applied by the paying
agent solely to the payment or prepayment of the
principal of and interest on the notes being
refunded. Upon payment of all principal of and
interest on the notes, any excess moneys in the
fund shall be distributed to the town.
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 or
resolution of the town annual pursuant to an
investment policy of the town council.
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 discretion of the director of finance,
be applied to cost of preparing, issuing and
marketing bonds or notes hereunder to the extent not
otherwise provided, to the payment of project
costs, 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 costs of
preparing, issuing and marketing bonds or notes
hereunder may also, in the discretion of the
director of finance, be met from bond or note
proceeds exclusive of premium and accrued interest
or from other moneys available therefor. Any
balance of bond or note proceeds remaining after
payment of the cost of preparing, issuing and
marketing bonds or notes hereunder shall be applied
to the payment of the principal or interest on bonds
or notes issued hereunder. To the extent
permitted by applicable federal laws, 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 to the town in the same
manner and to the same extent as other debts lawfully
contracted by it 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 therefore 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 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.
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 the 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 of assistance which may
be available for the purposes of 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 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 projects, 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
or notes issued hereunder shall in no way depend
upon the validity or occurrence of such action.
SECTION 11. It
shall be a condition precedent to holding of the referendum described in
section 12 hereof and the issuance of bonds or
notes hereunder that the town council adopt a
resolution, on or before March 30, 2007, which
provides for an exact amount of bonds and notes
to be issued.
SECTION 12. At a
general or special election to be held on a date that shall be
designated by the town council, or in lieu
thereof, by the town manager, there shall be submitted
to electors of the town a question in
substantially the following form:
"Shall the
Town of East Greenwich issue General Obligation Bonds and Notes in an
Amount Not to Exceed $[ ] for the Purpose of
Financing the Construction and Equipping
of a Senior and Community Center in the
Town?" and 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
this act available at the clerk's office for public
inspection, but the validity of the election
shall not be affected by this requirement. To the extent
of any inconsistency between this act and the
town charter, this act shall prevail.
SECTION 13. Sections
11, 12 and 13 shall take effect upon the 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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LC03539
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