Chapter 363
2009 -- S 0818
Enacted 11/13/09
A N A C T
AUTHORIZING THE
TOWN OF
Introduced By: Senator John J. Tassoni
Date Introduced: March 24, 2009
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. The Town of
previously granted, to issue its general obligation bonds and
notes to an amount not exceeding
one million dollars ($1,000,000) at one time or from time
to time under its corporate name and
seal or a facsimile of such seal to finance land
acquisition 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 finance director
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 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 finance director, and such
proceeds, exclusive of premiums and
accrued interest, shall be expended to purchase the Salt Barn
property, so-called, (described
generally as Smithfield Assessor's Plat 46, Lot 290) from the
State of
referred to as the project) if approved by the voters at the
Financial Town Meeting 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 therefore 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 be resolution authorize the
issue from time to time of
interest-bearing, non-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
finance director. Temporary notes issued hereunder shall be
signed by the finance director 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 finance director, 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 for 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 finance
director 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
either of them, or as may be provided in any other
applicable law of the State of
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 finance director, 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 finance
director, be met from bond or note proceeds exclusive of
premiums and accrued interest or from
other monies available therefore. 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 finance director shall be
governed by any instructions adopted by resolution of the town
council. The finance director 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 may be required therefore.
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 monies 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 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 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 therof and payment therefore
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 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 the act. To the extent of any
inconsistency between any law of the 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
finance 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 and 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 Smithfield
Financial Town Meeting to be held on June 11,
2009. The question shall be
submitted in substantially the following form:
"Shall
an act, passed at the 2009 session of the general assembly, authorizing the
Town of
of acquiring the Salt Barn property, so-called, from the
State of
The
warning for said Financial Town Meeting shall contain the question to be
submitted.
Form the time the said
Financial Town Meeting 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 vote taken at said Financial Town
Meeting 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 majority of
those voting on the question at the Financial Town Meeting prescribed
by the foregoing section.
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LC02195
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