05-LA
049
2005 -- S 1127
Enacted 07/19/05
A N A C T
RELATING TO CHARLESTOWN FIRE DISTRICT
Introduced By: Senators Algiere, and Breene
Date Introduced: May 26, 2005
It is
enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Section 4 and 6 of an act entitled "An Act to Incorporate the
Charlestown
Fire
District" passed at the January session AD 1974 as amended, are further
amended to read as
follows:
Section
4. The qualified taxable inhabitants of said Charlestown Fire District at each
annual
meeting and at any other meeting when vacancies occur, shall elect a district
fire chief and
a board
consisting of five (5) engineers. Four (4) of the engineers shall serve two
(2) year
staggered
term s and the non-fire department affiliated engineer shall serve a one-year
term.
All
five (5) engineers shall serve two (2) year terms, which terms shall be
staggered. The
fire
chief shall be elected for a two (2) year term. The board of engineers shall be
responsible for
the
care, management, and control of all property and equipment owned and/or
maintained by the
fire
district which is used for the prevention of extinguishment of fire. The board
of engineers
shall
appoint a moderator, clerk, treasurer, a three (3) member board of canvassers,
and a tax
collector
for one (1) two (2) year terms whose duties and powers within
said district shall be such
as like
officers in this state have in their respective towns. The board of engineers
shall have the
right
to terminate any appointment for just cause.
SECTION
6. Said Charlestown fire district is empowered to borrow money and issue its
notes
for the same, but such borrowings or debt outstanding at any one time shall not
exceed the
sum of one
million five hundred thousand ($1,500,000) two million five hundred
thousand dollars
($2,500,000); and said borrowings shall be authorized amounts
approved from time to time by
vote of
a majority of the electors present and voting on the question at an annual or
special district
meeting.
A voted not to approve an amount of bonds hereunder shall not preclude any
later vote
to
approve the same or a different amount.
Said
bonds and notes may be issued from time to time under the district's corporate
name
and
seal or a facsimile of such seal. The bonds of each issue may be issued in the
from 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 serial redemption in the case of term
bond, in annual
installments
of principal, the first installment to be not later than five (5) years and the
last
installment
not later than forty years after the date of the bonds. No installment of
principal shall
exceed the
next prior installment by more than eight percent (8%), except that this
limitation shall
not
apply to an installment payable less than five (5) years from the date of the
bond. Section 5.1
and 5.2
of Chapter 12 of title 45 of the general laws shall apply to any such bonds.
The
bonds shall be signed by a member of the Board of Engineers authorized by it
and by
the
manual or facsimile signature of the treasurer of the district and shall be
issued and sold at
public
or private sale at not less than par and accrued interest in such amounts as
the Board of
Engineers
may authorize. 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 separate
resolution
of the Board of Engineers or, to the extent provisions of these matters are not
so made
by such
resolution of the Board, they may be fixed by the member of the Board
authorized to sign
the
bonds or notes and the Treasurer of the District. Without limiting the
generality of the
foregoing,
the District is expressly authorized to borrow from, issue and sell bonds to
the United
States
of America and/or the United States Department of Agriculture at such rate or
rates of
interest
and upon such terms and upon such agreements with respect thereto as deemed
acceptable
by the Board of Engineers.
The
proceeds derived from the sale of the bonds shall be delivered to the
treasurer, and
such proceeds
exclusive or premiums and accrued interest shall be expended for payment of
principal
of or interest on temporary notes issued, in repayment of advances from its
treasury, and
for
such other purposes as may be fixed at the annual or special meeting of said
district
authorizing
said borrowing, or to the extent provisions for these matters are not so made
at such
meeting,
by separate resolution of the Board of Engineers.
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
proceeds of bonds or notes issued under this act and any applicable federal or
state
assistance
and any premiums or accrued interest thereon shall be deemed appropriated for
the
purposes
of this act without further action than that required by this act.
The
Board of Engineers may by resolution authorize the issue from time to time of
interest
bearing or discounted notes in anticipation of the issue of bonds or in
anticipation of the
receipt
of federal or state aid. 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 district treasurer. Temporary notes issued
hereunder shall be
signed
by the district treasurer and by a member of the Board and shall be payable
within five (5)
years
from their respective dates, but the principal of an 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.
Pending
any issue of bonds hereunder or pending or in lieu of any issue of notes
hereunder,
the district treasurer, with the approval of the Board, may, to the extent that
bonds or
notes
may be issued hereunder, apply funds in the treasury of the district to the
purposes for
which
bonds or notes are authorized hereunder, 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.
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 district
treasurer 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 United
States of
America
or by any agency or instrumentality thereof or as may be provided in any other
applicable
law of the State of Rhode Island.
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 district treasurer, 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 Board of Engineers,
be met
from
bond or note proceeds exclusive of premium and accrued interest or from other
moneys
available
therefor. Any balance of bonds or note proceeds remaining after payment of the
cost of
the
project 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. Any
earnings
or net profit realized from the deposit or investment of funds hereunder shall,
upon
receipt,
be added to and dealt with as part of the revenues of the district from
property taxes. In
exercising
any discretion under this section, the district treasurer shall be governed by
any
instructions
adopted by resolution of the Board of Engineers.
The
Board is authorized to take any action deemed necessary.
(1)
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 therefor; and
(2)
to comply with the requirements of federal law, including without being limited
to
regulations
and other requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the
Municipal
Securities Rulemaking Board, imposed directly on the District or on
underwriters of
such
bonds and notes.
All
bonds and notes issued under this act and the debts evidence thereby shall be
obligatory
on the district in the same manner and to the same extent as other debts
lawfully
contacted
by it. The district 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 and shall not be subject to the limitation of
twenty cents ($.20) for
each
one hundred dollars ($100) in Section 5 hereof. In order to provide such sum in
each year
and
notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, all taxable property in
the district shall
be subject
to ad valorem taxation by the district without limitation as to rate or amount.
Any
bonds or notes issued under the provisions of this act, if properly executed by
a
member
of the Board and treasurer of the district 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
either or both of such member and treasurer shall for any reason have ceased to
hold
office.
The
district, acting by resolution of its Board of Engineers, 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 for which bonds may be issued under this act, and any such
expenditures
may be in addition to other moneys provided. 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 from the proceeds of bonds or notes
as a cost of the
project
or projects involved.
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 and any bonds and notes issued
in accordance
herewith
shall not be affected by the existence or nonexistence of any approval or other
proceedings,
conditions, or act.
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; buy the validity of bonds and notes issued hereunder shall
in no
way
depend upon the validity or occurrence of such action.
SECTION 2. This act shall
take effect upon passage.
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LC03392
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