| Chapter 371 |
| 2023 -- H 5718 Enacted 06/27/2023 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO THE KINGSTON FIRE DISTRICT IN THE TOWN OF SOUTH KINGSTOWN |
Introduced By: Representatives Fogarty, Tanzi, Spears, McEntee, Cardillo, Cotter, Azzinaro, Kennedy, Casey, and Hull |
| Date Introduced: February 17, 2023 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Sections 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 15, 17, 18 and 19 of Chapter 544 of the 1923 |
| Public Laws entitled "An Act to Incorporate the Kingston Fire District in the Town of South |
| Kingstown" as amended, are hereby amended to read as follows: |
| Sec. 2. The electors, who shall consist of electors of said district qualified to vote in town |
| affairs on propositions to impose taxes or for the expenditure of moneys the residents of said district |
| qualified to vote in elections of the Town of South Kingstown, shall be entitled to vote and act in |
| all meetings of the corporation. |
| Sec. 4. Said electors at each annual meeting, and at any other meeting when vacancies |
| occur, may elect officers to serve for one year or until the next annual meeting, and until others be |
| elected in their stead, which officers shall consist of a moderator, clerk. Treasurer, treasurer, three |
| assessors, auditors, and a collector of taxes, whose duties and powers within said district shall be |
| such as like officers of towns in this state have within their respective towns. They may also elect |
| fire wardens, a president of fire wardens and such other officers and committees as they may deem |
| necessary. |
| Sec. 5. Said electors at any of their legal meetings shall have power to order such taxes, |
| and provide for assessing and collecting the same, on the taxable inhabitants and property in said |
| district as they shall deem necessary for purchasing and procuring real estate, buildings and |
| implements, apparatus, other equipment and a supply of water for the extinguishment of fire, for |
| constructing cisterns and reservoirs, laying water pipes and purchasing rights to lay the same, for |
| the purpose of lighting the street in said district with electricity or otherwise, for the payment of the |
| current expenses of said district, the payment of such police force as they may deem necessary for |
| the protection of the inhabitants of said district from fires and for the preservation of the public |
| peace therein and for the payment of obligations that have been or may be incurred, by said district |
| in the exercise of the powers granted to said district, and also for the payment of any indebtedness |
| that has been or may be incurred by said district. 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 next previous to said assessment, adding, however, |
| any taxable property which may have been omitted by said town assessors or which may have been |
| since acquired; and in all cases where the town assessors have included property within said district |
| and propc1ty without said district in one valuation, the assessors of said district shall make an |
| equitable valuation of that portion of the same lying within said district; and in the assessing and |
| collecting of 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 to towns in this state in assessing and |
| collecting town taxes assessed for said district have the same powers and authorities as are now by |
| law conferred upon collectors of taxes for towns in this state. Said district may provide for such |
| deduction from the tax assessed against any person if paid by an appointed time, or for such penalty |
| by way of percentage on the tax if not paid at an appointed time as they shall deem necessary to |
| insure punctual payment, which penalty shall not exceed that provided by law to be charged by the |
| cities and towns of the state on prope1ty taxes assessed by them. |
| Sec. 7. Said electors shall have power to enact bylaws prescribing the duties of fire |
| wardens and the several officers and committees of said district, and of the inhabitants of said |
| district in time of conflagration, and to enforce obedience to the commands of the fire wardens for |
| suppressing disorder and tumult, guarding or removing property or rendering other services in time |
| of fire, and also for the protection of the water pipes, hose, hydrants or other apparatus or property |
| of said district and for the preservation of order and the public peace in said district; and said |
| electors may provide for the breach of any such by-law a penalty consisting of a fine not exceeding |
| twenty dollars five hundred dollars, to be recovered for the use of said district, or imprisonment for |
| a term not exceeding thirty days, or both, which penalty may be enforced by prosecution on |
| complaint and warrant in the district court of the fourth judicial district. |
| Sec. 9. The fire wardens elected by said district shall publicly within four days next |
| preceding the day of holding and regular meeting of said fire district, make a corrected list of the |
| names of all persons entitled to vote in such meeting, and certify and deliver the same to the |
| moderator before the time shall arrive for the calling of the meeting to order. In making such list |
| the fire wardens shall take from the last corrected voting list of the town of South Kingstown the |
| names of all persons residing within the limits of said district who continue qualified to vote in |
| elections of the Town of South Kingstown on a proposition to impose a tax, or for the expenditure |
| of money in said town and place said names upon the list to be made up by them, and shall add |
| thereto the names of all persons residing within said district who shall be so qualified and whose |
| names shall not be upon said voting list and shall cause printed notices of the time and place named |
| by them to make such list to be posted in five public places within said district, not more than ten |
| nor less than five days before the time appointed for such district meeting, and the list so made and |
| certified shall be used in determining any question before such meeting when demanded by ten of |
| the voters present; and thereupon the moderator shall receive the votes of all persons whose names |
| arc upon such list, and shall reject the votes of all persons claiming to vote whose names are not |
| thereon. |
| Sec. 10. Said electors at any of their legal meeting shall have power to choose and appoint |
| so many men persons as they may think needful to be formed into a fire company or companies, |
| and also a hook and ladder company, and to make all such laws and regulations for organizing and |
| establishing the same as they shall see fit, and the members of such companies shall be entitled to |
| the exemptions, privileges and remedies provided by the general laws of the state for members of |
| the fire departments of cities and towns. |
| Sec. 11. Said electors may hold special meetings which, as well as the annual meetings, |
| shall be notified in such manner as they shall prescribe; and it shall be the duty of the clerk board |
| of wardens to call a special meeting upon written application signed by twelve or more of such |
| electors, and whenever the subject of ordering a tax or borrowing money is to be acted on, the same |
| shall be mentioned in the notice unless it be an annual meeting. |
| Sec. 15 13. The District may have a common seal, and in its corporate name may sue and |
| be sued, prosecute and defend, in any court and elsewhere and enjoy all the other powers generally |
| incident to corporations. Every suit whether in law or equity, brought against the district shall be |
| brought in the County of Washington unless otherwise directed by law. |
| Sec. 17 14. The District may from time to time make and ordain all ordinances, by-laws |
| and regulations for the District that shall not be in conflict with or in violation of other provisions |
| of this act and not repugnant to law. |
| Sec. 18 15. All property held by the said district, except land, pursuant to the authority |
| granted by this chapter as amended and located within said district is and shall he exempt from |
| taxation. Such exemption shall also apply to any taxes which, but for the passage of this act, might |
| be assessable with respect to property, except land, held by said district on December 31, 1962. |
| Sec. 19 16. This act shall take effect upon its passage, and all acts and parts of acts |
| inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed. |
| SECTION 2. Sections 13, 14, and 16 of Chapter 544 of the 1923 Public Laws entitled "An |
| Act to Incorporate the Kingston Fire District in the town of South Kingstown" are hereby repealed |
| in their entirety: |
| Sec. 13. In addition to the foregoing, said district shall have the power for the purpose of |
| supplying water within said district for fire protection and for domestic, manufacturing and other |
| purposes and for the transaction of any other business connected therewith, to acquire, by purchase |
| or otherwise, own, operate, subdivide, construct. improve, repair, develop, manage, lease, |
| mortgage, pledge, sell, exchange, assign or otherwise deal in real estate, interests in real estate, |
| riparian rights, water, rights of water and of way, any and all kinds of buildings, and any and all |
| personal and other property of any and all kinds incidental thereto. Said district may acquire and |
| hold the capital stock of any water company authorized to do business within said district. |
| Sec. 14. Said district may construct driven and bored artesian or other wells and may erect |
| on land acquired by it such dams, buildings, reservoirs, filtering galleries, filters, standpipes, |
| fixtures and other structures, apparatus or equipment as may be convenient for the establishment |
| and maintenance of a complete and effective system of water works and may do all other acts |
| reasonably necessary to carry out the powers granted in Section 13 hereof. Said district may make |
| excavations, procure and operate machinery, lay and maintain aqueducts, conduits, pipes and other |
| works under or over any land, water courses, and along or over any highway or other way, in such |
| manner us not unnecessarily to obstruct the same; and for the purpose of constructing, laying, |
| maintaining and repairing such aqueducts, conduits, pipes and other works and for all other |
| purposes of this act, said corporation may dig up, raise and embank any such land, highways or |
| other ways, in such manner as to cause the least hindrance to public travel under the protection and |
| with the assent of the town council of the town as to highways or other ways within its control, and |
| of the department of public warks (sic) as to highways or other ways within its control. |
| Sec. 16. Said district may sell and distribute water throughout said district, or authorize the |
| same to be done, and may regulate its use and fix the price and rates to be paid therefor, subject to |
| and with the benefit of the provisions of chapters 122 and 449 of the general laws, as amended. |
| Said district shall have the exclusive right to the water acquired or distributed by it, and may |
| maintain an action against any person for using the same without its consent. |
| SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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