§ 593-A — Pledge of tax revenues for payment of certain bonds of the Niagara Falls urban renewal agency

§ 593-a. Pledge of tax revenues for payment of certain bonds of the\nNiagara Falls urban renewal agency. (a) As security for the payment of\nany issue of bonds to be issued by the Niagara Falls urban renewal\nagency to finance land acquisition and clearance, site improvements and\nparking construction in connection with the East Falls Street\nRedevelopment Project and/or bond anticipation notes issued in\nanticipation thereof, the city council of the city of Niagara Falls is\nhereby authorized to enact a local law pledging the total proceeds\nconsisting of net collections of all sales and compensating use taxes\nreceived by the city of Niagara Falls from taxes authorized pursuant to\nsection twelve hundred ten of the tax law and proceeds payable to the\ncity pursuant to section twelve hundred sixty-two of the tax law, or any\nsuccessor statutes thereto and directing the state comptroller to pay\nover such proceeds to the Niagara Falls sales tax fund pursuant to the\nprovisions of section ninety-two-t of the state finance law, or to the\ntrustee for the holders of such bonds pursuant to the certificate issued\nby such trustee pursuant to subdivision (d) of this section. The lien of\nsuch pledge shall be valid and binding upon the city and agency and\ntheir respective successors and assigns as against all parties having\nclaims of any kind in tort, contract or otherwise against the city or\nthe agency irrespective of whether such parties have notice thereof. The\nlien of such pledge shall inure to the benefit of the agency and its\nsuccessors and assigns including any owners of such bonds and notes to\nwhom such proceeds are pledged. The agency shall not issue any bonds or\nnotes in connection with such project in an amount in excess of\nthirty-five million dollars, plus a principal amount of bonds or notes:\n (i) to fund any debt service reserve fund,\n (ii) to provide capitalized interest,\n (iii) to provide for original issue discount, and\n (iv) to provide for the payment of fees and other charges and\nexpenses, including underwriters' discount, related to the issuance of\nsuch bonds or notes, or related to the provision of any applicable bond\nor note facilities, excluding refunding bonds.\n Provided, however, that upon any refunding or repayment of such bonds\nor notes the total aggregate principal amount of outstanding bonds and\nnotes may be greater than thirty-five million dollars ($35,000,000) only\nif the present value of the aggregate debt service of the refunding or\nrepayment bonds to be issued shall not exceed the present value of the\naggregate debt service of the bonds so to be refunded or repaid. For\npurposes hereof, the present values of the aggregate debt service of the\nrefunding or repayment bonds and of the aggregate debt service of the\nbonds so refunded or repaid, shall be calculated by utilizing the\neffective interest rate of the refunding or repayment bonds, which shall\nbe that rate arrived at by doubling the semi-annual interest rate\n(compounded semi-annually) necessary to discount the debt service\npayments on the refunding or repayment bonds from the payment dates\nthereof to the date of issue of the refunding or repayment bonds and to\nthe price bid including estimated accrued interest or proceeds received\nby the agency including estimated accrued interest from the sale\nthereof.\n Such local law shall be subject to the following limitations and\nconditions:\n (i) Any such local law shall become effective on the date of issue of\nany bonds and/or bond anticipation notes the payment of which is secured\nby the proceeds of such sales and compensating use taxes;\n (ii) Any such local law shall be made subject to such terms and\nconditions, not inconsistent with this section, as may be determined\nnecessary or appropriate by such city council and agency, subject,\nhowever, to any rights of holders of previously issued bonds and/or bond\nanticipation notes secured by such tax proceeds and shall be deemed to\nbe in effect only while bonds and/or bond anticipation notes which are\nso secured are outstanding and may provide that it shall not be\nrepealed, rescinded or revoked or amended in a manner which is\nprejudicial to the interests of said holders while such obligations\nshall be outstanding;\n (iii) Enactment of such local law shall be conditioned upon the\nexecution of an agreement between the city of Niagara Falls and the\ncounty of Niagara whereby such county agrees to pay such city's share of\nthe proceeds of taxes payable to such city pursuant to section twelve\nhundred sixty-two of the tax law to the state comptroller for so long as\nbonds or notes issued pursuant to this section remain outstanding;\n (iv) Any such local law shall not be enacted unless such city council\nshall have determined that such local law is necessary and in the public\ninterest; and\n (v) Notwithstanding any of the foregoing to the contrary, the\naforesaid pledge shall be deemed executory only to the extent of moneys\nappropriated and made available therefor by the city.\n (b) The state does hereby covenant and agree with the owners of each\nissue of bonds and/or bond anticipation notes of the agency secured by a\npledge of proceeds of such sales and compensating use taxes that the\nstate will not repeal, rescind or revoke the provisions of this section\nor section ninety-two-t of the state finance law or modify the same as\nto limit, impair, or impede the rights hereby vested in the city and/or\nthe agency or in any way limit, impair, or impede the rights and\nremedies of owners of said bonds and/or bond anticipation notes, until\nsuch bonds and/or bond anticipation notes, together with the interest\nthereon, and all costs and expenses in connection with any action or\nproceeding by or on behalf of such owners, are fully paid or otherwise\ndischarged or defeased; provided that (i) nothing in this section shall\nbe deemed or construed as giving or pledging the credit of the state to\nthe payment of said bonds and/or bond anticipation notes; and (ii) this\npledge shall be subject to the reserved right of the state to alter the\nbase, rate, method of taxation and exemptions from taxation or the\nmethod of distribution of the taxes which may be imposed pursuant to\nsection twelve hundred ten and section twelve hundred sixty-two of the\ntax law, or any successor law thereto. The city and the agency are\nauthorized to include this covenant and agreement of the state in any\nsale of such bonds and/or bond anticipation notes.\n (c) The agency shall provide in any sale of bonds and/or bond\nanticipation notes which are secured by proceeds of sales and\ncompensating use taxes as provided herein that the proceeds of the taxes\nwhich would otherwise be received by the city pursuant to section twelve\nhundred ten of the tax law or proceeds payable to the city pursuant to\nsection twelve hundred sixty-two of the tax law, or any successor\nstatutes thereto, shall, upon the occurrence of events described in\nsubdivision two of section ninety-two-t of the state finance law, be\npaid by the state comptroller into the Niagara Falls sales tax fund for\ndisposition as provided in such section. The state comptroller is\nhereby authorized and directed to pay such moneys to such fund, and to\nmake such arrangements as are deemed appropriate to facilitate such\npayments, including, but not limited to the electronic transfer thereof.\n (d) Upon delivery of any issue of bonds or notes secured by the\nproceeds of sales and compensating use taxes as herein authorized, the\nchair of the agency shall file with the state comptroller and the county\ntreasurer a certificate setting forth with respect to such issue the\nname and address of the trustee for the holders thereof. Upon the\nappointment of a successor trustee with respect to any issue of bonds or\nnotes secured as provided herein, a supplemental certificate shall be\nfiled with the state comptroller and the county treasurer prior to the\neffective date of such appointment. Such trustee shall on or before\nNovember first annually certify to the state comptroller and to the city\ncouncil the amount required for the ensuing city fiscal year for payment\nof debt service on bonds or notes issued pursuant to this section and to\nrestore any deficiencies in any reserve funds established in connection\nwith the issuance of such bonds or notes.\n (e) Pursuant to an appropriation by the city council of the amount\ncertified pursuant to subdivision (d) of this section, the state\ncomptroller shall pay such amount to the trustee out of proceeds of the\ntaxes pledged pursuant to this section. Any such proceeds in excess of\nsuch certified amount shall be paid by the state comptroller to the city\nof Niagara Falls. In the event that the amount to be paid by the state\ncomptroller is less than the amount certified pursuant to subdivision\n(d) of this section, the comptroller shall pay such difference to the\ntrustee for the bondholders out of the first monies available for the\nnext succeeding payments of (i) state aid apportioned to the city of\nNiagara Falls as per capita aid for the support of local government\npursuant to section fifty-four of this chapter or (ii) such other aid or\nassistance payable by the state to the city and not otherwise allocated\nas shall supersede or supplement such state per capita aid, including\nfederal monies apportioned to the city by the state, after giving\nwritten notice to the chief fiscal officer of the city of Niagara Falls.\nAny amount so paid over shall be deducted from the corresponding\napportionment of such per capita state aid otherwise payable to the city\nof Niagara Falls, and shall not obligate the state to make nor entitle\nthe city to receive any additional apportionment or payment of per\ncapita state aid. Nothing herein shall affect the reserved right of the\nstate to amend such section fifty-four or otherwise reduce or eliminate\nsuch per capita aid and such other aid or assistance.\n (f) The state comptroller may conclusively rely upon the information\nset forth or included by reference in any certificate filed therewith\npursuant to this section or section ninety-two-t of the state finance\nlaw, and shall not be liable to the owner of any bond or note of the\nagency on account of any reasonable action taken based upon such\ninformation. The county treasurer may conclusively rely upon the\ninformation set forth in any certificate filed therewith pursuant to\nthis section or section ninety-two-t of the state finance law, and shall\nnot be liable to the owner of any bond or note of the agency on account\nof any reasonable action taken based upon such information.\n (g) During the period that any local law enacted pursuant to this\nsection shall be in force, the city shall not issue revenue anticipation\nnotes in anticipation of the receipt of taxes authorized pursuant to\nsection twelve hundred ten of the tax law, which taxes are described in\nsubdivisions (b), (d), (e) and/or (f) of section eleven hundred five of\nthe tax law, and, in the event that the city issues revenue anticipation\nnotes in anticipation of the collection or receipt of any other\ncategories of sales taxes used as security to the bondholders pursuant\nto the provisions of this section, when determining the total amount of\nrevenue anticipation notes which may be issued, in addition to the\namounts described in subparagraph (b) of subdivision three of paragraph\n(d) of section 25.00 of the local finance law or the amounts described\nin the unnumbered paragraph following such subparagraph (b), as the case\nmay be, there shall also be deducted an amount equal to the debt service\non the bonds or notes of the agency so secured thereafter remaining to\nbe paid during the fiscal year of the city with respect to which such\nrevenue anticipation notes are issued.\n