Chapter 416
2006 -- S 3183
Enacted 07/06/06
A N A C T
AUTHORIZING
THE TOWN OF EAST GREENWICH TO FINANCE THE CONSTRUCTION AND EQUIPPING OF
BALLFIELDS AND RELATED RECREATIONAL AND SPORTS FACILITIES 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 six million dollars ($6,000,000) 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 than
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 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 as follows: (a) for the purpose of
financing the construction and equipping of
ballfields and related recreational and sports facilities
in the town ("the project"), (b) in
payment of the principal of or 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, in the 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. This bond issue authorized by this act
shall 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 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 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 the town’s intent to pay
off the notes and (2) that the period from the date
of an original note to the maturity date of any
other note shall not exceed five (5) years. Any
temporary notes in anticipation of 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 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 which 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 council or
pursuant to an investment policy of the town.
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 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 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 cost 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 accrued interest or from other moneys
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 shall be
applied to the payment of the principal of 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 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 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 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 of 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. 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
Ballfields and Related Recreational and Sports
Facilities 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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LC03540
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