Chapter
06-030
2006 -- S 2976
Enacted 05/19/06
A N A C T
AUTHORIZING THE TOWN
OF SMITHFIELD TO ISSUE NOT EXCEEDING $1,000,000 GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS OR
NOTES FOR LAND ACQUISITION
Introduced By: Senator John J. Tassoni
Date Introduced: March 29,
2006
It is
enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. The Town of Smithfield is hereby empowered, in addition to authority
previously
granted, to issue its general obligation bonds and notes to an amount not exceeding
one
million dollars ($1,000,000) at one time or from time to time under its
corporate name and
seal or
a facsimile of such seal to finance land acquisition and related costs as more
fully set forth
in
section two. The bonds of each issue shall mature in annual installments of
principal, the first
installment
to be not later than three (3) years and the last installment not later than
twenty-five
(25)
years after the date of the bonds. For each issue, the amounts payable annually
for principal
and
interest combined 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 countersigned by the
town
manager and the town clerk and shall be issued and sold in such amounts as the
town
council
may authorize by majority vote of all its members. The manner of sale,
denominations,
maturities,
interest rate or rates, award 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 their
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. The
town council
may
provide that any bonds issued under this act and any other authorized issue of
bonds of the
town
may be consolidated and issued at the same time as a single bond issue,
provided that the
last
installment of the portion of any such consolidated issue that is allocable to
the bonds issued
under
this act shall not be later than the times specified by the applicable
provisions hereof. The
bonds
may be made callable with or without premium. 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, shall be expended for costs of acquiring land for school, library
and/or related
purposes
(hereinafter referred to as the project) if approved by the voters at the
Financial Town
Meeting
in accordance with Section 11 hereof, including all other costs incidental and
related to
the
foregoing project and its financing pursuant to this act including, but not
limited to, the
payment
of the principal of or interest on temporary notes issued under section three
and the
repayment
of advances made under section four. 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, or as may be authorized by the town council. The proceeds of
bonds or notes
issued
under this act, any applicable federal or state assistance and any other monies
referred to in
sections
five or six 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 issue from time to time of
interest
bearing or discounted notes in anticipation of the issue of bonds under this
act 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 countersigned
by the
town
manager and the town clerk 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 period for which bonds may be issued under
this act
need
not be reduced by the period of any temporary loans hereunder. The proceeds
derived from
the
sale of such temporary notes shall be used only for the purposes for which the
proceeds of
bonds
issued under this act may be used.
SECTION
4. Pending any issue of bonds or 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 for 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, in obligations issued or guaranteed by
the United States
of
America or the State of Rhode Island, or by any agency, instrumentality or
political
subdivision
of either of them, 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 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 hereunder may also, in the discretion of the town
treasurer,
be met
from bond or note proceeds exclusive of premiums 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 may
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 used for the same purposes as the proceeds of bonds or notes issued
hereunder.
In exercising any discretion under this section, the town treasurer shall be
governed by
any
instructions adopted by resolution of the town council. The treasurer is
authorized to take any
action
deemed by him or her necessary to assure that interest on the bonds or notes
issued
hereunder
remains excludable from gross income of the recipients thereof for federal
income tax
purposes,
including, without limitation, paying to the federal government any rebate of
earnings
derived
from the deposit or investment of the proceeds of such bonds or notes that may
be
required
therefor.
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 monies 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 the
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 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
monies
provided in the act. To the extent of any inconsistency between any law of the
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, all action shall be taken which is
necessary to meet
constitutional
requirements whether or not such section 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 the project set forth in section 2 hereof
shall
be submitted to the voters at the Smithfield Financial Town Meeting to be held
on May 11,
2006.
The question shall be submitted in substantially the following form:
"Shall an act, passed at
the
2006 session of the general assembly, authorizing the Town of Smithfield to
issue not
exceeding
$1,000,000 General Obligation Bonds or Notes for the purpose of acquiring land
for
school,
library and/or related purposes 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, it shall be the duty of the town clerk to keep
a copy of this
act
available at his or her office for public inspection, but the validity of the
election shall not be
affected
by this requirement.
SECTION
12. This section and section eleven shall take effect upon the passage of this
act.
The remainder of this act shall take effect upon the approval of the question
listed in section
11
hereof by a majority of those voting on the question at the Financial Town
Meeting prescribed
by the
foregoing section.
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LC02834
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