Chapter 282
2006 -- H 7976
Enacted 07/03/06
A N A C T
AUTHORIZING
THE TOWN OF SMITHFIELD TO ISSUE NOT EXCEEDING $1,000,000 GENERAL OBLIGATION
BONDS OR NOTES FOR LAND ACQUISITION
Introduced
By: Representatives Winfield, and Petrarca
Date
Introduced: April 10, 2006
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 its general obligation
bonds and notes to an amount not exceeding
one million dollars ($1,000,000) at one time or
from time to time under its corporate name and
seal or a facsimile of such seal to finance land
acquisition 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 for costs of
acquiring land for school, library and/or related
purposes (hereinafter referred to as the
project) if approved by the voters at the Financial Town
Meeting in accordance with Section 11 hereof,
including all other costs incidental and related to
the foregoing project and its 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 project 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 any other monies referred to in
sections five or 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 issue 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, 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
project, 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
monies available therefor. Any balance of bond
or note proceeds remaining after payment of the
cost of the project and the cost of preparing,
issuing and marketing bonds or notes hereunder may
be applied 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 monies 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 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 this act, and any
such expenditures may be in addition to other
monies provided in the act. To the extent of any
inconsistency between any law of the 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
section 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 the project set forth in section 2 hereof
shall be submitted to the voters at the Smithfield
Financial Town Meeting to be held on May 11,
2006. The question shall be submitted in
substantially the following form: "Shall an act, passed at
the 2006 session of the general assembly,
authorizing the Town of Smithfield to issue not
exceeding $1,000,000 General Obligation Bonds or
Notes for the purpose of acquiring land for
school, library and/or related purposes 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 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 the question listed in section
11 hereof by a majority of those voting on the
question at the Financial Town Meeting prescribed
by the foregoing section.
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LC02835
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