Chapter 295
2012 -- H 7914
Enacted 06/20/12
A N A C T
AUTHORIZING THE
TOWN OF COVENTRY TO FINANCE AIR QUALITY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS AND
OTHER REPAIRS AND RENOVATIONS TO SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND OTHER MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS
IN THE TOWN AND ALL ATTENDANT EXPENSES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
ENGINEERING COSTS, BY THE ISSUANCE OF NOT MORE THAN $5,000,000 BONDS, NOTES
AND/OR OTHER EVIDENCES OF INDEBTEDNESS THEREFOR
Introduced By: Representatives Tomasso, Chippendale, Guthrie, Nunes, and Serpa
Date Introduced: March 07, 2012
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. The town of
previously granted, to issue bonds, notes and other evidences of
indebtedness (hereinafter
“bonds”)
up to an amount not exceeding five million dollars ($5,000,000) from time to
time
under its corporate name and seal or a facsimile of such.
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 sinking fund installments 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 bonds or notes issued
under this act may be fixed by the 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. Notwithstanding anything
contained in this act to the contrary, the town may enter into
financing agreements with the
Rhode Island Health and
Educational Building Corporation pursuant to title 16 chapter 7 and title
45 chapter
38.1 of the general laws and, with respect to notes or bonds issued in
connection with
such financing agreements, if any, the town may elect to have
the provisions of title 45, chapter
38.1 of the general laws
apply to the issuance of the bonds or notes issued hereunder to the extent
the provisions of title 45, chapter 38.1 of the general
laws are inconsistent herewith. Such election
may be fixed by the proceedings of the town council
authorizing such issuance of 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 town director
of finance, and such proceeds exclusive
of premiums and accrued interest shall be expended: (a)
for air quality and energy efficiency
improvements and other repairs and renovations to school buildings
and other municipal
buildings in the town and all attendant expenses, including but
not limited to engineering costs;
(b) in
payment of the principal of or interest on temporary notes issued under section
3; (c) in
repayment of advances under section 4; (d) in payment of
related costs of issuance of any bonds
or notes; and/or (e) in payment of capitalized interest
during construction of the project (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, for school projects,
the town council may delegate such authority to the town
school committee. The proceeds of
bonds or notes issued under this act, may applicable
federal or state assistance and the other
monies referred to in sections 6 and 9 shall be deemed
appropriated for the purposes of this act
without further action than that required by this act. The
bonds authorized by this act may be
consolidated for the purpose of issuance and sale with any other
bonds 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 issuance 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 town 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 issuance 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. 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 town
director of finance in any investment permitted
under section 5. The moneys in the fund and any investments
held as part of the fund shall be
held in trust and shall be be
applied by the paying agent solely to the payment or prepayment of
the principal of an 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. 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 note to the maturity date of any other note
shall not exceed five (5) years.
SECTION
4. Pending any authorization or
issue of bonds hereunder or pending or in lieu
of any authorization or issue of notes hereunder, the
town 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 2, 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
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
in any other applicable law of the State of
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 premium arising from the
sale of bonds or notes hereunder shall, in the discretion
of the town 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 the 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 cost of
preparing, issuing and marketing bonds or notes hereunder may
also, in the discretion of the town
director of finance, be met from bond or note proceeds
exclusive of accrued interest or from
other moneys available therefore. Any balance of bond or
note process remaining after payment
of the cost of the projects 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 town 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, and coupons, if
any, 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 or assistance which may
be available for the purposes of this act, and any such
expenditures may be in addition to the
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 2.
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, 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. The town director of finance 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 all instruments,
documents or agreements necessary to
comply with federal tax and securities laws, which
instruments, documents or agreements may
have a term coextensive with the maturity of the bonds
authorized hereby, including Rule 1 5c2-
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 12. 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 13. At a general, special or local election (other
than a primary) to be held on
a date that shall be designated by the town council,
there shall be submitted to electors of the
town a question in substantially the following form:
“Shall an act passed at the 2012 session of
the general assembly entitled ‘An act authorizing the
town of
energy efficiency improvements and other repairs and
renovations to school buildings and other
municipal buildings in the town and all attendant expenses,
including but not limited to
engineering costs, by the issuance of not more than $5,000,000
bonds, notes and/or other
evidences of indebtedness 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 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. This act shall constitute an
enabling act of the general assembly that is
required pursuant to section 16-7-44 of chapter 7 of title 16
of the general laws. Any bonds, notes
or other evidences of indebtedness issued under this act
for school projects shall not be eligible
for state aid reimbursement pursuant to section 16-7-44
of chapter 7 of title 16 of the general laws
unless the school projects described herein have been
approved by the Rhode Island Department
of Education and the Board of Regents for Elementary and
Secondary Education.
SECTION
15 Sections 13 and 15 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 section
13.
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LC02126
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