Chapter
511
2004 -- H 8579
Enacted 07/07/04
A N A C T
AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF
CENTRAL FALLS TO ISSUE BONDS AND NOTES IN AN
AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED
$10,000,000 FOR FINANCING CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS
TO VARIOUS CITY BUILDINGS
INCLUDING SUCH IMPROVEMENTS AS ARE
NECESSARY IN ORDER TO COMPLY
WITH THE STATE MANDATED FIRE/BUILDING
CODE REGULATIONS
Introduced By:
Representatives Faria, and Moran
Date
Introduced: June 01, 2004
It is enacted by the General
Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. The City of Central Falls is hereby empowered, in addition to authority
previously granted, to issue bonds
to an amount not exceeding ten million dollars ($10,000,000)
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
sinking fund redemption in the
case of term bonds, in annual installments of principal, the first
installment to be not later than
three 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 terms 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
director of finance and the mayor
and shall be issued in such amounts as the city council may
determine. 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 city council authorizing
the issue or by separate resolution of the city 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.
Interest coupons (if any) shall bear the facsimile signature of the
director of finance. 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) for the purpose of
financing capital improvements to various city buildings in order
to comply with the recently
revised state mandated building code regulations; (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 costs of issuance associated with the issuance of
the 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 proceeds of bonds or
notes issued under this act, any
applicable federal or state assistance and the other moneys
referred to in section six shall
be deemed appropriated for the purposes of this act without further
action than that required by this
act. In addition to such funds, there may be expended for the
purposes of this act such other
sums as may be appropriated therefor. The bond issue authorized
by this act may be consolidated
for the purposes of issuance and sale with any other bond issue of
the city 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.
SECTION
3. The city 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 section two 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 by
the mayor and shall be payable within five (5) years from their
respective dates, but the
principal of 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 that 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 city 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 of section 1, hereof. In
such case, the city's authority to issue bonds or notes in
anticipation of bonds under this
act shall continue provided that 1) the city council passes a
resolution evidencing the city'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 of
the amount of bonds which may be issued under this act, and
provided further that if 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 city 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 repayment 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 city.
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
city council, may, to the extent
that the bonds or notes may be issued hereunder, apply funds in
the general treasury of the city
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 saving deposits in banks which are members of
the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation or its 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.
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 net earnings or profits
realized from the deposit or
investment of funds 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 the cost of the projects or the cost of
additional improvements coming
within the description of the project in section two of this act, to
the payment of the principal of or
interest on bonds or notes issued hereunder, to the extent
permitted by applicable federal
laws added to and dealt with as part of the revenues of the city
from property taxes, 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,
including premiums but exclusive of accrued interest, or from
other moneys available therefor.
Any balance of bond or note proceeds remaining after the
payment of the cost of the
projects and the cost of additional improvements coming within the
description of the projects in
section two of this act 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.
In exercising any discretion under this section, the director
of finance shall be governed by
any instruction adopted by resolution of the city council.
SECTION
7. All bonds and notes issued under this act and the debts evidence thereby
shall be obligatory on the city 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 city for the purpose of
ascertaining its borrowing
capacity. The city 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 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 city shall be
subject to ad valorem taxation by
the city without limitation as to rate or amount.
SECTION
8. Any bonds or notes issued under the provisions of this act, and coupons, if
any, on any bonds, if properly
executed by officers of the city 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 city, acting by resolution of its city 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 cost
under section two of this act.
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 projects
financed in whole or in part under
this act, including where applicable the condemnation of any
land or interest in land in
levying 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 and notes
issued hereunder shall in no way
depend upon the validity or occurrence of such action.
SECTION
11. The director of finance and the mayor, on behalf of the city are hereby
authorized to execute such
instruments, documents or other papers as either of the foregoing
deem necessary or desirable to
carry out the intent of this act and are also authorized to take all
actions and execute all documents
necessary to comply with federal tax and securities laws
including Rule 15c2-12 of the
Securities and Exchange commission (the "Rule") and to execute
and deliver a continuing
disclosure agreement or certificate in connection with the bonds or notes
in the form as shall be deemed
advisable by such officers in order to comply with the Rule.
SECTION
12. The question of the approval of this act shall be submitted to the electors
of the city at the general
election to be held on November 2, 2004. 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 City of Central Falls to issue Bonds and
Notes in an amount not to exceed
$10,000,000 to finance capital improvements to various city
buildings including such
improvements as are necessary in order to comply with the state
mandated fire/building code
regulations' be approved?" and the warrant for the election shall
contain the question to be
submitted. The question to be submitted may be submitted to the
electors with, and/or placed on
the same ballot with, any other bond or referenda questions which
is being submitted to the electors
of the city for approval. From the time the election is warned
and until it is held, it shall be
the duty of the city clerk to keep a copy of the act available at the
city clerk's office for public
inspection, but the validity of the election shall not be affected by this
or any other public posting
requirement. The polling place or places shall be designated by the
local board (as defined in Section
17-1-2 of the general laws) and the local board shall forthwith
after the election notify the
Secretary of State of the result of the vote upon the question
submitted. To the extent of any
inconsistency between this act and the city charter, this act shall
prevail.
SECTION
13. Sections 12 and 13 of this act shall take effect upon passage. The
remainder of this act shall take
effect upon the approval by the electors of the city of the question
provided for in Section 12.
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LC03517
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