Chapter
295
2005 -- S 1103
Enacted 07/15/05
A N A C T
AUTHORIZING THE TOWN OF CUMBERLAND TO FINANCE THE CONSTRUCTION OF ADDITIONS, RENOVATIONS, IMPROVEMENTS, ALTERATIONS AND REPAIRS TO THE HIGH SCHOOL IN THE TOWN, THE EQUIPPING AND FURNISHING THEREOF AND THE PURCHASE AND INSTALLATION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE IN SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL FACILITIES IN THE TOWN BY THE ISSUANCE OF NOT MORE THAN $30,000,000 BONDS AND/OR NOTES THEREFOR
Introduced By: Senators Connors, Badeau, and Issa
Date Introduced: May 18, 2005
It is
enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. The town of Cumberland is hereby empowered, in addition to authority
previously
granted, to issue bonds to an amount not exceeding thirty million dollars
($30,000,000)
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 be
not later than
three
(3) 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 mayor 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 of
additions,
renovations, improvements, alterations and repairs to the high school in the
town, the
equipping
and furnishing thereof and the purchase and installation of information
technology
infrastructure
in schools and school 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 of issuance 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
all contracts made therefor by the mayor and the school committee on behalf of
the town,
provided
that no Project shall be commenced without the approval of the school
committee. The
proceeds
of bonds or notes issued under this act, any applicable federal or state
assistance and the
other
moneys 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 may
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.
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 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 mayor 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
I 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 amounts 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 premium and 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 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 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 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. The director of finance and the mayor, on behalf of the town 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
town at a general or special election which is not a primary to be held on
September 27,
2005 or
such other 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 2005
session of the
general
assembly, entitled 'An Act Authorizing The Town of Cumberland to Finance the
Construction
of Additions, Renovations, Improvements, Alterations and Repairs to the High
School
in the Town, the Equipping and Furnishing Thereof and the Purchase and
Installation of
Information
Technology Infrastructure in Schools and School Facilities in the Town by the
Issuance
of Not More Than $30,000,000 Bonds and/or Notes Therefor' be approved?"
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 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. This section and the foregoing section 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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LC03282
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