[Adopted 10-23-1989 by L.L. No. 5-1989 as Ch. 7, Art. I, of the 1989 Code]
A Municipal Board of Light Commissioners, to
be known and designated as the "Board of Light Commissioners of the
Village of Endicott, New York," be and the same hereby is established.
A.
Such Board of Light Commissioners shall consist of
seven members whose terms of office shall be for periods of four years,
provided that the terms of office of those persons presently serving
upon said Commission shall expire on the date so designated upon their
appointment.
B.
The Board of Trustees shall also designate and appoint
at each annual meeting one of its members as a Commissioner, who shall
serve for one year.
C.
If any such Commissioner shall die or resign during
the term of such appointment, the successor of such Commissioner shall
be appointed by the Mayor, subject to approval by the Board of Trustees,
and shall serve for the duration of the unexpired term of any such
Commissioner.
The members of the Board of Light Commissioners
shall receive no salaries but shall be reimbursed their actual expenses
incurred in the discharge of their duties. This section shall not,
however, prevent such Board of Light Commissioners from employing
one of their members as Secretary or other executive officer and paying
to such member proper compensation for the duties so performed.
[Amended 1-8-1996 by L.L. No. 1-1996]
There be and hereby is conferred upon such Board of Light Commissioners, when so appointed as aforesaid, such powers, rights, duties, privileges and responsibilities which are set forth herein in Chapter 9, Article I, of the Code of the Village of Endicott and which are delegated to such Board of Light Commissioners in the care, maintenance, control, operation, supervision and management of the municipal electric and/or light system.
[Amended 1-8-1996 by L.L. No. 1-1996]
A.
Employees responsible for performance of the work
in the municipal electric and/or light system shall be hired, employed
and supervised by the Board of Trustees; said employees may include,
at the discretion of the Board of Trustees, a Superintendent and Assistant
Superintendent.
B.
The Village Attorney shall act as legal advisor for
the Board of Light Commissioners and may appear for and represent
it in any or all actions, matters and proceedings relating to said
Board of Light Commissioners or the conduct of its business. The compensation
of such counsel shall be determined and paid by the Board of Light
Commissioners.
[Amended 12-13-1999 by L.L. No. 11-1999]
C.
The Board of Light Commissioners may also, from time
to time, in its discretion, retain accountants or other advisors,
the compensation of which shall be determined and paid by the Board
of Light Commissioners.
[Amended 12-13-1999 by L.L. No. 11-1999]
A.
The majority of the members of the Board shall constitute
a quorum for the transaction of any business; and such Board shall
have the power to adopt such rules and regulations and/or bylaws as
it may deem necessary, proper and expedient and not in conflict with
law for the transaction of any of its business and may enforce the
observance thereof by cutting off the supply of service of such system
or by the imposition of penalties.
B.
The Board of Light Commissioners shall meet at least
once every other month for the purpose of transacting its business.
[Amended 12-13-1999 by L.L. No. 11-1999]
[Amended 1-8-1996 by L.L. No. 1-1996]
A.
All the properties, records, rights, privileges and prerogatives of the present municipal electric and/or light system are hereby transferred to said Board, and such system as defined in Article 12 of the Village Law of the State of New York shall be under the control and supervision of said Board of Light Commissioners.
B.
Neither the Board of Trustees nor the Board of Light
Commissioners shall have the power or authority to sell or lease such
electric system or any part thereof to any person or persons, firm,
partnership or corporation except when authorized to do so by a vote
of the resident taxpayers at either a special or annual election.
A.
The Board shall establish a scale of rates or charges
which shall, in no event, be not less than the cost thereof to said
Board at place of delivery for the use and consumption of electricity,
to be paid, at such times as the Board may prescribe, by the consumers
thereof, and may, from time to time, either modify, increase or diminish
such rates or charges, not, however, below cost. A schedule of such
rates or charges shall, at all times, be filed in the offices of such
Board and with the Village Treasurer and with such other governmental
agencies as the law may require.
B.
The Board or any of its agents, servants or employees
shall be authorized at all times to enter into any residence, building
or buildings where electricity is used from said system for the purpose
of examining any fittings, fixtures or other appliances and the quantity
of electricity used and the manner or method of such use.
A.
All the earnings, revenue and moneys belonging to
or coming into the hands of or under the jurisdiction of said Board
or any of its agents, servants or employees shall be promptly paid
to the Village Treasurer to the credit of said Board of Light Commissioners
and shall be deposited and maintained in a separate and distinct fund
or account separate and apart from all other Village funds or moneys.
B.
The surplus earnings after the cost of operation,
management, maintenance and ordinary improvements have been paid and
the payment of accrued interest upon outstanding bonds issued by the
Village for the benefit of such municipal electric and/or light system,
if any there be, and after the requirements of any sinking fund, depreciation
fund or capital budget expense have been fully met, may, in the discretion
of said Board, be applied toward improving and extending said system.
If such surplus earnings are insufficient to make such improvements
and extensions, then said Board shall not expend during any fiscal
year for such improvements and extensions more than $1,000. If the
sum to be expended for any such purposes exceeds the surplus earnings
by more than $1,000, such expenditure shall only be made when authorized
by the approval of a majority of the Board of Trustees and/or by a
vote of the resident taxpayers of the Village at either a special
or annual election.
C.
Upon the recommendation in writing of said Board and
upon the authorization and approval of the Board of Trustees, bonds
of the Village may be issued from time to time for extending and/or
improving said system; and such bond issue shall be subject to any
and all procedures required by statute pertaining to the issue of
bonds or other evidences of indebtedness by the Village for any other
purpose authorized by statute so to do.
A.
The Board shall have the control of the construction
of all improvements and additions to such system and extensions thereof
and shall have the power to make all contracts necessary or incidental
to the execution thereof.
B.
Any work or construction exceeding in cost $2,000
shall, before any contract is let or work done, be advertised by said
Board for bids, with full power to reject any and all bids received.
A copy of each bid received and any contract entered into by the Board
shall be filed with the Village Treasurer and shall be deemed a public
record.
The Board shall require all agents, servants
and employees who shall in any manner whatsoever handle any of the
moneys or funds of said system to file a bond in the form usual for
other municipal officers in the penal sum as shall be prescribed by
said Board. The cost of such bonds shall be a charge against the funds
of said Board.
The Board shall pay all wages, electric, gas,
telephone, tax and all other bills, debts and other expenses contracted
by it out of the moneys so deposited to its credit when proper claims
therefor have been presented and have been audited by said Board by
orders drawn upon the Village Treasurer and signed and approved by
the Chairman or Vice Chairman of said Board and countersigned by the
Clerk thereof. Payment thereof, however, shall be made by the Village
Treasurer.
A.
The Board shall annually and within 30 days after
the commencement of each official year designate one of its number
to act as Chairman and one to act as Vice Chairman. The Board shall
also designate a Clerk or Secretary thereof, who need not necessarily
be a member of such Board. Certificates of such designations shall
be filed within 10 days after such designations with the Village Treasurer
and Village Clerk.
B.
Powers.
(1)
The Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the
Board and shall have the power to sign all contracts and other instruments
necessary for the conduct of its business when so approved by the
majority vote of said Board, and all of such instruments shall be
attested to by the Clerk or Secretary thereof.
(2)
The Vice Chairman shall have the same powers as the
Chairman in the absence of or inability of the Chairman to act.
The Board shall, at all times, keep such system
in repair and may, from time to time, improve the same, pursuant to
the provisions herein contained and may extend the plant and facilities
thereof within said Village and may, with the consent of the Board
of Trustees and with the consent and approval of such other regulatory
bodies as may be necessary, extend such plant and the facilities thereof
outside of said Village but within the Town of Union.
A.
Any and all public utility systems hereafter acquired
shall be subject to and shall be under the jurisdiction of this Board.
B.
The Board is hereby authorized to expend moneys derived
from the commercial operation of its system in the further promotion
and development of its business and to employ technical experts to
make necessary investigations precedent to the exercise of the power
conferred by this section. Following such necessary investigations
by the Board and its technical experts, the Board is hereby authorized,
subject, however, to the approval of the Board of Trustees and subject
to a referendum, if any there be, to enter into contracts for the
purchase of properties and/or equipment of any other public utility
now operating within the Village.
The Board shall estimate annually the sum which
shall be paid by the Village for use of electricity for its public
purposes, which estimate shall be based upon the actual cost thereof.
The Board of Trustees shall annually levy and raise the amount of
money thereby established by the Board of Light Commissioners, and
the amount so raised shall be levied and collected at the same time
and in the same manner as other general Village taxes are levied and
raised, and, in addition thereto, the sum thus raised shall be paid
by the Village Treasurer into the fund of said municipal electric
and/or light system under the jurisdiction of said Board of Light
Commissioners.
The Board is hereby authorized and empowered
to set up a sinking fund or capital budget fund for the purpose of
liquidating, at their maturity, any bonds which may hereafter be issued
in connection with the operation of such system and/or for the purpose
of setting up a fund to defray the expenses of meeting the obligations
of and to complete the accomplishment of any predetermined purpose
or plan of such Board. Such sinking or capital budget fund shall be
created and maintained as follows:
A.
Out of the surplus earnings of the operation of such
system, after the payment of the cost of operation, management, maintenance,
improvements and extensions of said system and the payment of the
interest upon any outstanding bonds, if any there be, the Board shall,
upon the issuing of any bonds authorized hereby or upon the completion
of any predetermined plan of capital improvements, additions or extensions,
create a sinking fund for the payment of such bonds, principal and
interest, at the maturity thereof or to meet the proposed or tentative
expenditures of any predetermined plan, by setting apart annually
an amount sufficient to produce at the maturity of said bonds or other
obligations a sum equal to the principal then to become due.
B.
If and when the revenues, as aforesaid, shall be insufficient
to enable said Board to provide for the sinking fund or capital budget
fund requirements and the interest upon any of said bonds, said Board
shall report such fact and the amount of any such deficiency to the
Board of Trustees.
C.
It shall thereupon become the duty of the Board of
Trustees to provide for such deficiency (only in the case such deficiency
exists in the payment of any such bond or interest) and pay the same
in the same manner as it may provide for the payment of the principal
and interest upon any other bonded indebtedness of said Village.
D.
The Village, in addition to the power which it now
possesses to raise money for all other purposes by taxation, shall
have the power to raise by a general tax annually, and it shall be
the duty of the Board of Trustees to levy and raise annually, upon
the real property assessed for taxation in said Village and as a part
of the general tax levy, such sum as may be necessary to provide for
the payment of any such bonds and interest. The Village may, if necessary,
make a temporary loan or loans therefor in anticipation of the tax
levy.
E.
If the Board of Trustees shall have raised and paid
any sum of such deficiency arising from the insufficiency of the revenue
of such system, the Board of Light Commissioners, as soon as practicable
by exercising the powers conferred upon it, shall increase the revenue
of said system sufficiently to prevent any further deficiency and
shall also raise the amount of the deficiency that shall have been
paid by the Board of Trustees; and said Board of Light Commissioners
shall pay the amount of such deficiency when so raised into the general
fund of said Village.
F.
The sinking fund or capital budget fund provided for
herein and the moneys belonging thereto shall be kept by the Village
Treasurer separate and apart from all other funds and accounts and
shall be deposited in such banks, trust companies or savings banks
as shall be designated by the Board of Light Commissioners and at
such rate of interest thereon as may be agreed upon between said banks
or trust companies and the Village Treasurer, subject to the approval
of the Board of Light Commissioners. No such deposit in any such bank
or trust company, however, shall at any time be authorized in excess
of 50% of the capital stock of such bank or trust company. The Board
of Light Commissioners or the Board of Trustees may require, by resolution,
each such trust company or bank wherein any such funds are deposited
to execute and to deliver to the Village Treasurer a bond with sufficient
sureties conditioned to save the Village harmless in any event from
loss by reason of any deposits therein made, such bond to be approved
by the Board requiring such bond. Any such deposits shall be made
in an account separate from other Village funds and shall be properly
distinguished and designated.
G.
No money shall be withdrawn from any such fund except
upon the warrant of the Village Treasurer authorized by the resolution
of the Board of Light Commissioners and concurring approval of the
Board of Trustees for the payment, redemption or purchase of the bonds,
or some part thereof, for the payment of which said sinking fund was
created or for the transfer of such fund or some part thereof to another
depository designated or approved therefor by said Board of Light
Commissioners or for the payment of any capital expenditure upon the
fulfillment or part fulfillment of a predetermined purpose or plan.
H.
Any bond paid, redeemed or purchased shall at once
be canceled and returned to the Village Treasurer with the report
thereof to both the Board of Light Commissioners and the Board of
Trustees.
I.
The funds remaining in any of said funds at any time,
or any part thereof, may, however, be invested by the Village Treasurer
upon resolution of the Board of Light Commissioners and of the Board
of Trustees in interest-bearing obligations of the United States or
State of New York or any municipality thereof, and said Board of Light
Commissioners, upon the approval of the Board of Trustees, may, at
any time, having the funds for that purpose, purchase at no more than
par, any of the bonds issued for said system and cancel and pay the
same.
J.
The surplus earnings of said system on hand at any
time after the payment of the cost of operation, management, maintenance,
improvements and extensions, and after the payment of the interest
upon the outstanding bonds issued by the Village in connection with
said system and the requirements of said sinking fund and/or capital
budget fund have been fully complied with and provided for, may be
applied by the Board of Trustees with the consent, however, of the
Board of Light Commissioners, toward the payment of any bonded or
other indebtedness of the Village now or hereafter contracted.
A.
Nothing herein contained shall prevent the Board of
Light Commissioners from creating and designating, by appropriate
name, special public utility funds by transferring moneys thereto
as provided herein for the refunding of overpayments and overcharges
to the consumers of electricity or other public utility system owned
and operated by said Village, which powers of fund creation and refund
are hereby authorized. Checks or warrants on such special public utility
funds shall be signed by the Village Treasurer and/or such other officer
of the municipality as may be designated by the Board of Light Commissioners
in the resolution(s) creating such special public utility fund. Certified
copies of such resolution(s) shall be filed in the office of the Village
Treasurer.
B.
The Board may, likewise, at any time, by resolution,
direct the transfer by the Village Treasurer of any fund(s) from any
bank or trust company to any other bank or trust company.
The Board of Light Commissioners shall, at all
times, keep books showing, in detail, the cost of maintenance of said
system and all its collections, rents, expenditures and proceedings
and shall furnish, whenever required by the Board of Trustees, such
information in writing as to the business and affairs of said system
as may be required by said Board of Trustees. All the books, records,
vouchers, contracts and all other papers kept by said Board or in
its possession or under its control shall be deemed to be public records.
A.
Notwithstanding any provisions contained herein, all
billings, accounts and other financial records and inventories or
copies of such inventories shall be performed by and/or maintained
by the Village Treasurer; and the Board shall, each year, pay into
the general fund of the Village a sum of money sufficient to reimburse
the Village for collecting the revenues accruing to said system and
for the use, occupancy and rental of certain portions of its premises.
B.
Said Board of Light Commissioners shall, at least
10 days before the first day of April of each year, make and file
with the Board of Trustees a statement of the following facts:
(1)
The amount of money on hand at the beginning of the
preceding fiscal year and the amount received during said year.
(2)
A statement of the amount paid out during said year
and the various purposes thereof and the balance on hand.
(3)
The outstanding indebtedness of said department, either
bonded or otherwise, separately stated.
(4)
The estimated deficiency, if any, in the amount necessary
to be paid principal or interest, after applying thereto the probable
amount of rents and other income to be received, and any amount from
the sinking fund.
(5)
The amount deposited or credited to any sinking or
capital budget fund maintained by said Board.
(6)
The amount of extensions made during the last preceding
year and the general condition of the system.
(7)
Such other facts as the Board of Light Commissioners
deems important for the information of the Village, together with
such recommendations concerning said system as may be deemed proper.
A member of such Board of Light Commissioners
may be removed by a majority vote of the Board of Trustees for misconduct,
malfeasance or nonfeasance, on notice to such member and an opportunity
to be heard in defense thereof.
