Chapter 399
2006 -- S 3129
Enacted 07/06/06
A N A C T
AUTHORIZING
THE TOWN OF NORTH KINGSTOWN TO FINANCE THE ACQUISITION OF FARMLAND AND OTHER
REAL ESTATE AND/OR DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS THERETO AND TO ISSUE NOT MORE THAN
$4,000,000 BONDS AND NOTES THEREFOR
Introduced
By: Senators Sheehan, and Lenihan
Date
Introduced: June 01, 2006
It is enacted by the General Assembly as
follows:
SECTION 1. The
Town of North Kingstown is hereby empowered, in addition to
authority previously granted, to issue bonds to
an amount not exceeding Four Million Dollars
($4,000,000.00) 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 five
years and the last installment not later than thirty 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 manual or facsimile signatures of 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 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 resolution 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 town
treasurer, and such proceeds exclusive of
premiums and accrued interest shall be expended
for (a) purchasing and/or acquiring farmland,
undeveloped land and/or open spaces, and/or
development rights thereto and all costs incidental
thereto, (b) the preservation or restriction of
use of farmland, undeveloped land and open spaces
and all costs incidental thereto, (c) in payment
of the principal of or interest on temporary notes
issued under Section 3 of this act or (d) in
repayment of advances under Section 4 of 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 therefor on behalf of the Town by
the Town Council or as may be otherwise
directed by the Town Council. The proceeds of
bonds or notes issued under this act, any
applicable federal or state assistance and the
other monies referred to in Section 6 of this act shall
be deemed appropriated for the purposes of this
act without further action than that required by
this act. The 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. For the purpose of this act, the term
"farmland" means any lot or parcel of
land, or portion thereof, including any improvements
thereon, used for predominantly agricultural purposes,
whether at the time of its acquisition or
previously, as determined by the Town Council.
For the purpose of this act, the term
"undeveloped land" means any lot or
parcel of land, or portion thereof, that is generally
undeveloped, whether or not extensively treed at
the time of its acquisition, as determined by the
Town Council. For the purpose of this act, the
term "open spaces" means any lot or parcel of
land, or portion thereof, the preservation or
restriction of use of which would (1) maintain or
enhance the conservation of natural resources,
(2) promote conservation of farmland, or (3)
protect natural streams or water supply.
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 authorization or 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 treasurer.
Temporary notes issued hereunder shall be signed
by the treasurer and by the president of the
Town Council and shall be payable within five
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 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 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 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
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.
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 and any
earnings or net profit realized from the deposit or
investment of funds 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,
to the payment of the cost of the projects or to
the cost of additional improvements coming within
the description of the projects in Section 2 of
this act, 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 treasurer, be
met from bond or note proceeds exclusive of
accrued interest or from other monies available
therefor. Any balance of bond or note proceeds
remaining after payment of the cost of the
projects and said additional improvements 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 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 (1) 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 and (2) to comply with the
requirements of federal law, including without being
limited to regulations and other requirements of
the Securities and Exchange Commission and the
Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, imposed
directly on the Town or on the underwriters of
such bonds and notes.
SECTION 7. All
bonds or notes 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 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 2.
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,
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. To the extent of any
inconsistency between this act and the Town
Charter, this act shall prevail.
SECTION 11. The
question of the approval of this act shall be submitted to the electors
of the town at an election on a date to be
determined by the Town Council which occurs at least
thirty days after the passage of this act. The
question shall be submitted in substantially the
following form: "Shall an act, passed at
the 2006 session of the General Assembly, entitled 'AN
ACT AUTHORIZING THE TOWN OF NORTH KINGSTOWN TO
FINANCE THE
ACQUISITION OF FARMLAND AND OTHER REAL ESTATE
AND/OR DEVELOPMENT
RIGHTS THERETO AND TO ISSUE NOT MORE THAN
$4,000,000 BONDS AND NOTES
THEREFOR' be approved?" and the warning for
the election shall contain the question to be
submitted. The Town Board of Canvassers may
combine any two or more voting districts for the
election and when so combined shall be treated
as a voting district. If so combined, the Town
Board of Canvassers shall advertise the
combination of districts in a newspaper of general
circulation in the Town. 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.
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 those voting on the
question at the election prescribed by Section
11.
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LC03333
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