Chapter 420
2006 -- S 3156
Enacted 07/06/06
A N A C T
AUTHORIZING
THE TOWN OF SMITHFIELD TO ISSUE NOT EXCEEDING $35,205,000 GENERAL OBLIGATION
BONDS OR NOTES FOR THE PURPOSES OF SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION AND RENOVATION
Introduced
By: Senator John J. Tassoni
Date
Introduced: June 08, 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
thirty-five million two hundred five thousand
dollars ($35,205,000) at one time or from time to
time under its corporate name and seal or a
facsimile of such seal to finance school construction
and renovation 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 amount of the bond issue, 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 school
construction, school renovation, the furnishing
of school buildings and grounds, and/or related
purposes (hereinafter referred to as the
project) if approved by the voters at the General Election
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 city 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, in
obligations issued or guaranteed by the United States
of America or the State of Rhode Island, or by
an 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
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 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 my 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 city 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 rate or amount.
SECTION 8. Any
bonds or notes issued under the provisions of this act, if properly
executed by the officers of the town in office
on the date of execution, shall be valid and binding
according to their terms notwithstanding that
before delivery thereof and payment therefor any or
all of the officers shall for any reason have ceased
to hold office.
SECTION 9. The
town, acting by order or resolution of its town council, is authorized to
apply for, contract for an expand 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 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 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 or 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 General
Election to be held on November 7, 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 (amount of bond issue)
General Obligation Bonds or Notes for the Purposes of
School Construction And Renovation Be
Approved?" The amount of the bond issue that is
included in the ballot question shall be
established by Resolution of the Town Council.
In accordance with
Smithfield Home Rule Charter Section 4.16, the referendum ballot
shall include the election of two members of the
Capital Projects Committee who shall be
qualified voters of the Town of Smithfield.
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 General Election prescribed by the
foregoing section.
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LC03454
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