Chapter 430
2012 -- S 3011
Enacted 06/25/12
A N A C T
AUTHORIZING THE
TOWN OF COVENTRY TO FINANCE SYSTEM-WIDE IMPROVEMENTS TO HEATING, VENTILATION
AND AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS AT SCHOOLS IN THE TOWN BY THE ISSUANCE OF NOT MORE
THAN $1,600,000 BONDS, NOTES AND/OR OTHER EVIDENCES OF INDEBTEDNESS THEREFOR
Introduced By: Senators Shibley, and Kettle
Date Introduced: May 24, 2012
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. The town of
previously granted, to issue bonds and other evidences of
indebtedness (hereinafter "bonds") up
to an amount not exceeding one million six hundred
thousand dollars ($1,600,000) 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. 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 system-wide
improvements to heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems
at schools in the town; (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. The proceeds of
bonds or notes issued under this act, any 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 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. 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 therefor. Any
balance of bond or note proceeds 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 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 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 after seven (7)
years shall have passed from the approval of this act
provided for in section 13, 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 COVENTRY TO
FINANCE SYSTEM-WIDE
IMPROVEMENTS TO HEATING, VENTILATION AND AIR
CONDITIONING SYSTEMS AT
SCHOOLS IN THE TOWN BY THE ISSUANCE OF NOT
MORE THAN $1,600,000 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. Sections 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 section
13.
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LC02688
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