Chapter 280
2008 -- S 3155
Enacted 07/08/08
A N A C T
PROVIDING
FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS TO THE SCITUATE MIDDLE/HIGH SCHOOL
COMPLEX AND AUTHORIZING FINANCING THEREOF, INCLUDING THE ISSUE OF NOT MORE THAN
$4,000,000 IN BONDS THEREFOR
Introduced
By: Senator Leo R. Blais
Date
Introduced: June 20, 2008
It is enacted by the General Assembly as
follows:
SECTION 1. The
Town of Scituate is hereby empowered and authorized, in addition to
authority previously granted, to issue bonds in
an amount not exceeding $4,000,000 from time to
time under its corporate name and seal or a
facsimile of such 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
three (3) years and the last installment not
later than twenty-three (23) 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 Town Treasurer and by the President of
the Town Council. The manner of the 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
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 Town Treasurer
and such proceeds, exclusive of premiums and
accrued interest, and costs of issuance, shall
be expended (a) for the designing, constructing,
equipping and furnishing of capital
improvements, additions and renovations to the Scituate
Middle/High School complex or (b) payment of the
principal of or interest on temporary notes
issued under this act, or (c) and repayment of
advances under this act. 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 therefore
on behalf of the district by the school building
committee or as may be otherwise directed by the
school committee. The proceeds of bonds or notes
issued under this act, any applicable state
assistance, or other monies referred to in this
act 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 Section 2
or in anticipation of the receipt of federal or
state aid for the purposes of this act. The amount of
original notes issued under this act 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
treasurer. Temporary notes issued hereunder
shall be signed by the Town Treasurer and by the
President of the Town Council and shall be
payable within three years of 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 issuance 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 three years.
SECTION 4. Pending
any authorization or issuance of bonds hereunder or pending or in
lieu of any authorization or issuance of notes
hereunder, the Town Treasurer with the approval of
the President 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 2; 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
treasurer in demand deposits, time deposits, or
saving deposits, in banks which are members of
the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or in
other 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 laws 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 treasurer be applied to the cost of
preparing, issuing, and marketing bonds or notes
hereunder to the extent not otherwise provided
or to the payment of the cost of the projects or
to the payment of the principal or of 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 treasurer be met
from bond or note proceeds exclusive of premium
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 shall 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 dealt with as part of
the revenues of the Town.
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. No such obligation
shall at any time be included in the debt of the
Town for the purpose of ascertaining its
borrowing capacity and shall be excepted from the
operation of Section 45-12-2 of the General
Laws. The Town shall annually appropriate an
amount 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 by the Town, it shall nevertheless
be added to the Town’s annual tax levy. In order
to provide such sum 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 the 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 and all of such officers for any reason have
ceased to hold office.
SECTION 9. The
Town acting by its school committee 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 purpose of this act and any
such expenditures may be in addition to other monies
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 2.
SECTION 10. Bonds
and notes may be issued under this act without obtaining the
approval of any government agency or the taking
of any proceedings or the happening of any
conditions except as specifically required by
this act or such issue. In carrying out any project
financed in whole or in part in this act,
including where applicable to 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 actions
shall be taken which are 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 voters of
the Town of Scituate at a special financial town
meeting to be held on such date and at such time
as shall be fixed by the Town Council. The
question shall be submitted in substantially the
following form: “Shall an act passed at the 2008
session of the General Assembly entitled, ‘An
act providing for the construction of capital
improvements to the Scituate Middle/High School
Complex and authorizing the financing thereof,
including the issue of not more than $4,000,000
in bonds therefor’, be approved?” and the
warning for the special financial town meeting shall
contain the question to be submitted. From the
time the special financial town meeting 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 the
town office for public inspection but the
validity of the special financial town meeting shall not
be affected by this requirement.
SECTION 12. This
Section and Section 11 shall take effect upon passage. The remainder
of this act shall take effect upon the approval
of this act by a majority of the voters voting on the
question as prescribed by Section 11.
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LC03261
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