Chapter
484
\2006 -- H 8233
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: Representatives Winfield, and Petrarca
Date Introduced: June 14,
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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LC03436
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