Chapter
509
2004 -- H 8577
Enacted 07/07/04
A N A C T
AUTHORIZING THE TOWN OF
CHARLESTOWN TO FINANCE CAPITAL COSTS
ASSOCIATED WITH THE TOWN'S
WITHDRAWAL FROM THE CHARIHO REGIONAL
SCHOOL DISTRICT INCLUDING THE ACQUISITION
OF LAND FOR AND THE DESIGN,
CONSTRUCTION, FURNISHING AND
EQUIPPING OF A MIDDLE SCHOOL/HIGH
SCHOOL COMPLEX AND THE
RENOVATION, REHABILITATION, REPAIR,
IMPROVEMENT AND EQUIPPING OF
AND/OR ADDITIONS TO EXISTING SCHOOLS
AND SCHOOL FACILITIES IN THE
TOWN BY THE ISSUANCE OF NOT MORE THAN
$34,900,000 BONDS AND/OR NOTES
THEREFOR
Introduced By:
Representative Matthew J. McHugh
Date
Introduced: June 01, 2004
It is enacted by the General
Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. The town of Charlestown is hereby empowered, in addition to authority
previously granted, to issue
general obligation bonds and notes to an amount not exceeding
Thirty-Four Million Nine Hundred
Thousand Dollars ($34,900,000), 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 not be later than five (5) years and the last
installment and 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. Annual installments of principal may be provided
for by maturity of principal in the
case of serial bonds or by mandatory serial redemption in the
case of term bonds. 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 town treasurer and the president of the
town council and shall be issued
and sold in such amounts as the town council may authorize.
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 (a) to finance capital
costs associated with the town's withdrawal from the Chariho
Regional School District including
the acquisition of land for and the design, construction,
furnishing and equipping of a
middle school/high school complex and the renovation,
rehabilitation, repair,
improvement and equipping of and/or additions to existing schools and
school facilities in the town, (b)
in payment of the principal of and/or interest on temporary notes
issued under section three, (c) in
repayment of advances made pursuant to section four, and/or (d)
in payment of costs of issuance
associated with the issuance of bonds or notes hereunder. 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. 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 and
nine, shall be deemed appropriated for the purpose of this act
without further action than that
required by this act. The bonds authorized by this act may be
consolidated for the purpose of
issuance and sale with any other bonds 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 treasurer 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 all 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, including
Rule 15c2-12 of the Securities and Exchange Commission
and to execute and deliver a
continuing disclosure agreement or certificate in connection with the
bonds or notes.
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 the 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 town treasurer. Temporary notes
issued hereunder shall be signed
by the town treasurer 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.
Any temporary notes in
anticipation of bonds issued under this section may be refunded prior to
the maturity of 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 the 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 town treasurer 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 the 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. 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
without extinguishing the
authority to issue bonds or 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.
SECTION
4. Pending any authorization or issue of bonds hereunder or pending or in lieu
of any authorization or issue of
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 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 town
treasurer 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 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 issued hereunder may also, in the discretion of the town
treasurer, 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 of
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
town treasurer shall be governed
by any instructions adopted by resolution of the town council.
SECTION
7. All bonds or 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 or notes issued hereunder to the
extent that moneys 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 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 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 or 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. All or any portion of the authorized but unissued authority to issue bonds
or notes under this act may be
extinguished by ordinance of the town council, without further
action by the general assembly,
seven (7) years after the effective date of this act.
SECTION
12. The question of the approval of this act shall be submitted to the electors
of the town at a general or
special election (other than a primary election) held prior to December
31, 2004 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 2004 session of the general
assembly, entitled 'AN ACT
AUTHORIZING THE TOWN OF CHARLESTOWN TO
FINANCE CAPITAL COSTS ASSOCIATED
WITH THE TOWN'S WITHDRAWAL FROM
THE CHARIHO REGIONAL SCHOOL
DISTRICT INCLUDING THE ACQUISITION OF
LAND FOR AND THE DESIGN,
CONSTRUCTION, FURNISHING AND EQUIPPING OF A
MIDDLE SCHOOL/HIGH SCHOOL COMPLEX
AND THE RENOVATION,
REHABILITATION, REPAIR,
IMPROVEMENT AND EQUIPPING OF AND/OR
ADDITIONS TO EXISTING SCHOOLS AND
SCHOOL FACILITIES IN THE TOWN BY
THE ISSUANCE OF NOT MORE THAN
$34,900,000 BONDS AND/OR NOTES THEREFOR'
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, is 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. To the extent of any inconsistency between this act and
the town charter, this act shall
prevail.
SECTION
13. Sections 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.
=======
LC03519
=======