Chapter 208
2012 -- S 2937 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 06/12/12
A N A C T
RELATING TO THE
CENTRAL COVENTRY FIRE DISTRICT
Introduced By: Senators Kettle, Shibley, and Pinga
Date Introduced: May 03, 2012
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Sections 3, 5, 6 and 7 of Chapter 405 of the
Public Laws, 2006, entitled,
“AN ACT IN AMENDMENT OF THE
INCORPORATION OF THE
FIRE DISTRICT IN
FURTHERANCE OF THE “CONSOLIDATION PLAN” OF THE
CENTRAL COVENTRY FIRE
DISTRICT, THE WASHINGTON LIGHTING DISTRICT, THE
HARRIS FIRE & LIGHTING
DISTRICT AND THE TIOGUE
APPROVED BY THE QUALIFIED
VOTERS OF SAID DISTRICTS, AT DULY CALLED
MEETINGS HELD ON MARCH 28,
2006”are hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 3. FIRST CONSOLIDATED DISTRICT MEETING AND ANNUAL
MEETINGS
OF THE
CONSOLIDATED FIRE DISTRICT.
(a) 2006 - First consolidated meeting:
Commencing
in the year 2006, a special meeting of the consolidated district shall be held
within thirty (30) days of the amendment of this Charter by
and among the Boards of Directors of
Central Coventry Fire
District, the Washington Lighting District, the Harris Fire & Lighting
District and the Tiogue Fire District for the purposes of constituting the
first Board of Directors of
the consolidated district, in accordance with Section 5
herein and for adopting the initial by-laws
for the Consolidated District.
(b)
Annual Meetings & Quorum:
Annual
meetings of said fire district for the election of officers and the transaction
of any
other business of the fire district shall be held. Twenty
five (25) qualified voters shall constitute a
quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting of the
corporation.
Commencing
in 2007 and continuing annually thereafter, the district shall hold an annual
meeting in a public place on the second first
Monday in September October, at 7:00 P.M. at such
place within the District as the Board shall determine, for
the purposes of: (1) electing a Board of
Directors; (2) authorizing
the assessment of all the taxable personal and real property of the
District; (3) authorizing
the collection of taxes, as further set forth in Section 6 hereunder; (4)
authorizing an annual budget to provide for the purchase and
maintenance of equipment,
apparatus, real and personal property, the payment of wages and
salaries, and for such other
expenditures deemed necessary by the qualified voters of the
District; and (5) For such other
lawful purposes deemed necessary and proper by either the
Board of Directors or qualified voters
of the district.
(c)
Call of the Meeting:
The
Clerk of the District shall give notice of the annual meetings by causing a
copy
thereof to be posted at least twice in some newspaper
distributed in
each fire station of the District not less than sixty (60)
days prior to the meeting date.
The
annual meeting and all other meetings of the District shall be held in a public
place,
which shall be accessible to the handicapped, pursuant to
the requirements of the
Constitution,
Article 1 & 2 and applicable federal and state non-discrimination laws.
Sec. 5. DIRECTORS & OFFICERS OF
THE CORPORATION – MODERATOR -
QUALIFICATIONS
(a)
The consolidated district board shall be comprised of seven (7) directors, none
of
whom shall be then serving as a Treasurer or Tax Collector
of any individual district, appointed
by the respective Boards of each individual fire district
and shall be constituted as follows: Two
(2) members
shall be appointed by the Central Coventry Fire District; Two (2) members shall
be
appointed by the Central Washington Fire District; One (1)
member shall be appointed by the
Harris Fire District; One
(1) member shall be appointed by the Tiogue Fire
District; the final
member shall be appointed by the preceding six (6) members
and may be from any of the
individual fire districts. The consolidated district Board of
Directors shall elect a President and
Vice President,
and all seven Directors shall be qualified to serve in office until at least
the next
annual meeting. At the first meeting of the consolidated
district, the Board shall determine by
some acceptable means, the order in which the members’
seats shall come up for election.
(b)
Thereafter, three (3) Directors will be elected to a three (3) year term at the
2007
annual meeting and every third year thereafter. Two (2)
directors shall be elected at the 2008
annual meeting and every third year thereafter. Two (2)
Directors shall be elected at the 2009
annual meeting and every third year thereafter.
(c)
Any inhabitant qualified to vote at any District meeting may be a candidate for
District office, provided such
candidate submits to the District clerk the title of the elective office
sought, together with a petition signed by twenty (20)
inhabitants qualified to vote at any District
meeting, at least sixty (60) days prior to the date of the
meeting, This list of signatures is to be
certified by the clerk no later than thirty (30) days prior to
an annual or special meeting of the
District.
(d)
The clerk of the District shall post in a conspicuous place a list of all
persons certified
to stand for election and the office to which each
person seeks election in at least eight (8) public
places within the district, including all actively used
District stations, at least twenty (20) days
prior to the annual meeting or any other special meeting
called for the election of officers.
(e)
The Board of Directors shall have the power to declare an office vacant if the
person
filling that office fails to attend three (3) consecutive
monthly meetings of the Board.
(f)
In the event that a vacancy in any elective office of the District occurs, the
president or
clerk shall call a meeting of the Board of Directors of the
district within ten (10) working days
after such vacancy occurs. The Board of Directors shall
select a qualified elector of the District to
fill the vacancy for a period of up to sixty (60) days
until the next annual meeting.
(g)
Upon the occurrence of any vacancy in any elective office of the District, at
the next
annual meeting an election will be held the president shall call a special meeting of the
District
for the purpose of electing a qualified elector to fill
the office vacated for the remainder of the
original term of office. Said special meeting shall be held
within sixty-five (65) days from the
date such original vacancy occurs.
Sec.
6 DUTIES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
(a)
The Board of Directors shall hold monthly public meetings to conduct the
business of
the District. The Board of Directors shall be empowered
and responsible to: (1) Fix the amount of
the bond of the Treasurer and the Tax Collector; (2)
Order payment of the district’s bills and
indebtedness; (3) Be in charge of and supervise the care of the
district’s properties; (4) Cause
district property to be insured; (5) Upon the
recommendation of the Fire Chief, purchase Purchase
equipment, property and apparatus and sell obsolete,
decommissioned or surplus equipment,
property and apparatus
as required by the District’s needs and budget; (6) Appoint an
Administrative Fire Chief, Tax
Collector and Treasurer and other employees. No less than one
half (1/2) of the members of the Board of Directors shall
constitute a quorum at any meeting of
the Board.
(b)
The foregoing list of duties shall not be deemed to be limiting and the
directors shall
have all necessary authority to operate and conduct the
business of the District as necessary, all
within the bounds of the laws of the State of
power to appoint and/or employ a tax assessor, tax
collector, treasurer, clerk, and other
committees and/or positions deemed necessary for the efficient
operation of the District.
(c)
The members of the Board of Directors and any official appointed by said Board
of
Directors shall be subject
to the Rhode Island Code of Ethics in Government, Chapter 14 of Title
36 of the
Rhode Island General Laws.
(d)
The president of said District shall preside at all
annual and special meetings as
moderator; in his/her absence the vice president shall serve as
moderator; in the absence of both,
a temporary moderator may be elected by a majority of
voters present and voting.
(e)
The administrative duties of these Directors shall be specified in the by-laws
of the
fire district.
Sec. 7. TAXING AUTHORITY - TAX ASSESSOR
(a)
Said qualified voters at any of their legal meetings shall have the power to
order such
taxes and provide for the assessing and collecting of the
same on the taxable inhabitants and
property in said district as they shall deem necessary for
purchasing fire engines, and all other
implements and apparatus for the extinguishing of fire; for the
purchase of land and buildings for
keeping same; for the purchasing, installation, operation and
maintenance of a suitable alarm
system; for making cisterns and reservoirs; for the
purchase of necessary vehicles and equipment
to operate and maintain emergency medical services; for paying the salaries of district officers
and employees., as well as the members
of the rescue unit known as Central Coventry Rescue.
And such taxes, so ordered,
shall be assessed by the assessors of said district on the taxable
inhabitants and property therein according to the last valuation
made by the assessors of the town
of
have been omitted by said town assessors or afterwards
acquired; and in assessing and collecting
said taxes such proceedings shall be had by the officers
of said district, as near as may be, as are
required to be had by the corresponding officers of towns in
assessing and collecting taxes.
(b)
The qualified voters of the Central Coventry Fire District are also authorized
to raise
money through taxes to purchase the necessary vehicles and
equipment to operate and maintain a
rescue unit to be known as the Central Coventry Rescue.
(c)
TAX ASSESSOR
There
shall be at least one District Tax Assessor, who may also serve as District
Clerk,
who shall be appointed or employed by the District. The
tax assessor shall levy and assess taxes
at such rate as the district shall vote, on all taxable
real and personal property in the district and
shall prepare and deposit the tax list with the tax
collector and treasurer of the district; said board
shall assess property on the basis of the last valuation
made by the assessors of the Town of
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC02248/SUB A
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