Chapter
467
2007 -- S 1096
Enacted 07/05/07
A N A C T
AUTHORIZING
THE TOWN OF NORTH SMITHFIELD TO FINANCE THE ACQUISITION OF LAND AND/OR
INTERESTS IN LAND FOR A NEW MUNICIPAL PUBLIC LIBRARY AND LIBRARY FACILITIES AND
THE RECONSTRUCTION AND REHABILITATION OF EXISTING BUILDINGS AND CONSTRUCTION OF
NEW BUILDINGS OR NEW ADDITIONS TO EXISTING BUILDINGS FOR, AND THE EQUIPPING OF,
A NEW MUNICIPAL PUBLIC LIBRARY AND LIBRARY FACILITIES IN THE TOWN BY THE
ISSUANCE
OF NOT MORE THAN $12,000,000 BONDS AND/OR NOTES THEREFOR
Introduced
By: Senators Tassoni, Cote, and P Fogarty
Date
Introduced: June 08, 2007
It is enacted by the General Assembly as
follows:
SECTION 1. The
Town of North Smithfield is hereby empowered, in addition to
authority previously granted, to issue bonds to
an amount not exceeding twelve million dollars
($12,000,000) 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. Annual installments of
principal may be provided for by maturity of
principal in the case of serial bonds or by mandatory
serial redemption in the case of term bonds. 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 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 premiums and accrued interest,
shall be expended as follows: (a) for the purpose of
financing the acquisition of land and/or
interests in land for a new municipal public library and
library facilities and the reconstruction and
rehabilitation of existing buildings and construction of
new buildings or new additions to existing
buildings for, and the equipping of, a new municipal
public library and library facilities 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 of
issuance 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 all
contracts made therefor on behalf of the town by
the town council. The proceeds of bonds or
notes issued under this act, any applicable
federal or state assistance and the other moneys
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 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.
SECTION 3. The
town council may by resolution authorize the issuance from time to
time of interest bearing or discounted notes in
anticipation of the 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 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 the 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 the town's intent
to pay off the notes without extinguishing the
authority to issue bonds or notes and (2) that
the period from the date of an original notes 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 a
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 issue 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 director
of finance in demand deposits, time deposits, or
savings deposits in banks which are members of
the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or in
obligation 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 and any
earnings or net profit realized from the deposit or
investment of funds 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 (1) or
more of the foregoing. The cost of preparing,
issuing and marketing bonds or notes hereunder
may also, in the discretion of the director of
finance, be met from bond or note proceeds
exclusive of 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 on 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 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 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 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.
SECTION 11. All or
any portion of the authority to issue bonds and notes under this act
may be extinguished by resolution of the town
council, without further action by the general
assembly.
SECTION 12. The
town director of finance and the president of the town council, on
behalf of the town, are hereby authorized to
execute such 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 all 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, including Rule
15c2-12 of the Securities and Exchange
Commission (the Rule) and to execute and deliver
a continuing disclosure agreement or
certificate in connection with the bonds or
notes in the form as shall be deemed advisable by such
officers in order to comply with the Rule.
SECTION 13.
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary or any
provision of the charter of the town, the town
council, by resolution, may authorize the town
director of finance and the president of the
town council in connection with undertaking the
project to be financed through the issuance of
bonds and/or notes under this act to enter into a
lease of all or part of the project site and
obtain such easements for access and egress to such
project site as shall be deemed necessary or
desirable, provided that such lease and easements, if
any, shall be not less than 35 years and not
more than 99 years in length. Such lease may contain
renewal extensions to cover periods beyond year
35 (subject to the maximum term to year 99)
and may provided for purchase options for the
site and a permanent easement, including for a
nominal sum, to be paid by the town.
SECTION 14. The
question of the approval of this act shall be submitted to the electors
of the town at a general or special election to
be held on a date as shall be designated by the town
council or, in lieu thereof, by the town
administrator. The question shall be submitted in
substantially the following form: "Shall an
act, passed at the 2007 session of the general
assembly, entitled 'An Act Authorizing The Town
of North Smithfield to Finance the Acquisition
of Land and/or Interests in Land for a New
Municipal Public Library and Library Facilities and
the Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of
Existing Buildings and Construction of New Buildings
or New Additions to Existing Buildings for, and
the Equipping of, a New Municipal Public
Library and Library Facilities in the Town by
the Issuance of Not More than $12,000,000 Bonds
and/or Notes Therefor' be approved?" 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 the act available
at his or her 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. Any contest
questioning the time, place, manner, notice and
timeliness of notice of the election held must be
commenced in superior court against the town not
later than twenty (20) calendar days from the
date such election is held; otherwise, the
validity of the election shall be conclusively presumed
and such election shall be deemed legally
compliant notwithstanding any irregularities, omission
or defects with respect to such matters.
SECTION 15. This
section and the foregoing section 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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LC03248
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