Chapter
454
2007 -- S 1039
Enacted 07/05/07
A N A C T
AUTHORIZING
THE TOWN OF EAST GREENWICH TO FINANCE THE ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION,
RENOVATION, IMPROVEMENT, REHABILITATION, EQUIPPING AND FURNISHING OF A NEW SENIOR
AND COMMUNITY CENTER IN THE TOWN BY THE ISSUANCE OF NOT MORE THAN $4,000,000
BONDS AND/OR NOTES THEREFOR
Introduced
By: Senators Lenihan, and Raptakis
Date
Introduced: May 22, 2007
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. The
Town of East Greenwich is hereby empowered, in addition to
authority previously granted, to issue bonds to
an amount not exceeding four million dollars
($4,000,000), or such lesser amount as is
determined by resolution of the town council pursuant
to section 12 hereof, 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 five (5) 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 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 other bonds or notes issued
under this act may be fixed by 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 premium and accrued interest, shall
be expended as follows: (a) for the purpose of
financing the acquisition, construction,
renovation, improvement, rehabilitation, equipping and
furnishing of a new senior and community center
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 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
contracts made therefore by the town council on
behalf of the town. The proceeds of bonds or
notes issued under this act, in the applicable
federal or state assistance and the other monies
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 shall
be consolidated for the purposes of issuance and
sale with any other bond issue of the town
heretofore and 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. The town finance director and the
president of the town council, on behalf of the
town, are hereby authorized to execute such
instruments, documents or other papers as either of
them deem necessary or desirable to carry out
the intent of this act and are also authorized to take
all actions and execute such instruments,
documents or agreements necessary to comply with
federal tax and securities laws, which documents
or agreements may have a term coextensive
with the maturity of the bonds authorized
hereby.
SECTION 3. The
town council may by resolution authorize the issuance from time to
time of interest bearing or discounted notes in
anticipation 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 president of the town council 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
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 1 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 to 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 amount 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 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 the bonds or notes
subsequently issued form the proceeds of
applicable federal or state assistance or from
other available funds.
SECTION 5. Any
proceeds or 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 or more
of the foregoing. The costs of preparing, issuing
and marketing bonds or notes hereunder may also,
in the discretion of the director of finance, be
met form bond or note proceeds exclusive or
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 in the 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 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 therefore 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
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 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 by 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 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. All or
any portion of the authorized but unissued authority to issue bonds
and notes under this act may be extinguished by
ordinance of the town council, without further
action by the general assembly.
SECTION 12. It
shall be a condition precedent to holding of the referendum described in
section 13 hereof and the issuance of bonds or
notes hereunder that the town council adopt a
resolution, which provides for an exact amount
of bonds and notes to be issued.
SECTION 13. At the
next statewide general election, there shall be submitted to electors
of the town a question in substantially the
following form:
"Shall the
Town of East Greenwich issue General Obligation Bonds and Notes in an
Amount Not to Exceed four million dollars
($4,000,000) for the Purpose of Financing the
Acquisition, Construction, Renovation,
Improvement, Rehabilitation, Equipping and Furnishing
of a Senior and Community Center in the
Town?" and 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 the clerk's 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 14.
Sections 12, 13 and 14 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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LC03100
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