There is hereby created a district to be known
as the Kent County water district (hereinafter called the "district"),
a political subdivision, whose boundaries shall be co-terminous with
the boundaries of Kent County. A board to be known as the Kent County
water authority is hereby created. Such board shall be a body corporate
and politic constituting a public benefit corporation and shall serve
as the governing body of the district for the purposes of this act.
Such board shall consist of five members, one member to be appointed
by the town councils respectively of East Greenwich, West Warwick
and Coventry, and one member by the city council of the City of Warwick,
and one additional member shall be appointed by the said council of
the above-named town or city having the greatest number of inhabitants
as shown by the United States census in effect when such appointment
shall be made, who are customers of said water authority. The successor
and successors of said original fifth member shall be elected by the
other members of said authority in the same manner, meaning that said
fifth member shall always be chosen from the town or city having the
greatest number of water takers of said authority at the time or times
of such successive elections. The members of the board first appointed
shall serve for terms of one, two, three, four and five years, respectively,
the term of each such member to be determined by the members thereof
by lot, and each successor member shall serve for a term of five years.
In the event of a vacancy occurring in the board by reason of the
death, resignation or otherwise of a member, the governing body of
the town or city, which appointed such member, shall appoint a new
member for the unexpired term. The chairman of the board shall be
selected by the majority vote of the members of the board. The board
shall appoint a secretary and a treasurer who may or may not be a
member of the board and such other employees as may be necessary in
its judgment, and fix their compensation. The powers of such corporation
shall be vested in and exercised by a majority of the members of the
board hereby created then in office. The members of the board shall
serve without compensation but shall be entitled to reimbursement
of their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance
of their official duties. The salaries, compensation, and expenses
of all members, officers, employees and agents shall be paid solely
out of the funds of the authority.
(P.L. 1946, Ch. 1740, § 1)
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It is hereby declared that the authority and
the carrying out of its corporate purposes is in all respects for
the benefit of the people of the State of Rhode Island and Providence
Plantations, for the improvement of their health, welfare and prosperity,
and the authority will be performing an essential governmental function
in the exercise of the powers conferred by this act, and the State
of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations covenants with the holders
of the bonds that the authority shall be required to pay no taxes
or assessments or sums in lieu of taxes, except as hereinafter provided,
to the state or any political subdivision thereof upon any of the
property acquired by it or under its jurisdiction, control, possession
or supervision or upon its activities in the operation and maintenance
of the property or upon any earnings, revenues, moneys or other income
derived by the authority, and that the bonds of the authority and
the income therefrom shall at all times be exempt from taxation. The
authority shall pay annually, having first made provision for the
payment of principal and interest on any bonds outstanding and any
other charges payable from revenues due in such year as may be provided
in the resolution or resolutions authorizing any bonds, in lieu of
any property tax, as a charge upon its earnings or revenues, to each
city, town or district, a sum equal in amount to any property tax
levied on any property by or on behalf of such city, town or district
during the year next preceding the acquisition of such property by
the authority. The authority shall have no power to levy or collect
ad valorem property taxes.
(P.L. 1946, Ch. 1740, § 5)
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The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
does hereby pledge to and agree with the holders of the bonds, notes
and other evidences of indebtedness of the authority that the state
will not limit or alter rights hereby vested in the authority until
the said bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness, together
with interest thereon, with interest on any unpaid installment of
interest and all costs and expenses in connection with any actions
or proceedings by or on behalf of the bondholders, are fully met and
discharged.
(P.L. 1946, Ch. 1740, § 6)
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All moneys of the authority, from whatever source
derived, shall be paid to the treasurer of the authority. Such moneys
on receipt shall be deposited forthwith in a separate bank account
or accounts. The moneys in such accounts shall be paid out on check
of the treasurer on requisition by the authority or of such other
person or persons as the authority may authorize to make such requisitions.
All deposits of such money shall be secured by obligations of the
United States or of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
of a market value equal at all times to the amount of deposits, and
all banks and trust companies are authorized to give such security
for such deposits. The authority shall have power, notwithstanding
the provisions of this section, to contract with the holders of any
of its bonds as to the custody, collection, security, investment and
payment of any moneys of the authority, or any moneys held in trust
or otherwise for the payment of bonds or in any way to secure bonds,
and to carry out any such contract notwithstanding that such contract
may be inconsistent with the previous provisions of this section.
Moneys held in trust or otherwise for the payment of bonds or in any
way to secure bonds and deposits of such moneys may be secured in
the same manner as moneys of the authority, and all banks and trust
companies are authorized to give such security for such deposits.
(P.L. 1946, Ch. 1740, § 7)
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The bonds are hereby made securities in which
all public officers and bodies of this state and all municipalities
and municipal subdivisions, all insurance companies and associations
and other persons carrying on an insurance business, all banks, bankers,
trust companies, savings banks and savings associations, including
savings and loan associations, building and loan associations, investment
companies and other persons carrying on a banking business, all administrators,
guardians, executors, trustees and other fiduciaries and all other
persons whomsoever who are now or may hereafter be authorized to invest
in bonds or other obligations of the state, may properly and legally
invest funds including capital in their control or belonging to them.
The bonds are also hereby made securities which may be deposited with
and shall be received by all public officers and bodies of this state
and all municipalities and municipal subdivisions for any purpose
for which the deposit of bonds or other obligations of this state
is now or may hereafter be authorized.
(P.L. 1946, Ch. 1740, § 8)
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The right to alter, amend or repeal this act
is hereby expressly reserved, but no such alteration, amendment or
repeal shall operate to impair the obligation of any contract made
by the authority under any power conferred by this act.
(P.L. 1946, Ch. 1740, § 9)
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Chapter 1569 of the Public Laws of 1945 entitled
"An act authorizing the creation of one or more authorities by the
cities of Cranston and Warwick, and the towns of Scituate, Coventry,
East Greenwich, West Greenwich and West Warwick, or any one or more
of said municipalities" is hereby repealed.
(P.L. 1946, Ch. 1740, § 12)
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