§ 6-G — Capital reserve funds for fire districts

§ 6-g. Capital reserve funds for fire districts. 1. As used in this\nsection:\n a. The term "capital improvement" shall mean:\n (1) Any physical betterment or improvement or any preliminary studies\nand surveys relative thereto.\n (2) Land or rights in land.\n (3) Any furnishings, equipment, machinery or apparatus for any\nphysical public betterment or improvement acquired at the time when such\nbetterment or improvement is constructed, reconstructed or acquired.\n b. The term "equipment" shall include any equipment, machinery or\napparatus not included in the definition of the term "capital\nimprovement" and for the acquisition of which a period of probable\nusefulness has been provided by law.\n c. The term "obligations" shall include bonds, notes, certificates or\nother evidences of indebtedness.\n 2. The board of fire commissioners of any fire district may establish\ncapital reserve funds for the financing of all or a part of the cost of:\n a. The construction, reconstruction or acquisition of a specific\ncapital improvement or the acquisition of a specific item or specific\nitems of equipment.\n b. The construction, reconstruction or acquisition of a type of\ncapital improvement or the acquisition of a type of equipment.\n 3. If the board of fire commissioners authorizes the establishment of\na capital reserve fund for the financing of all or part of the cost of\nthe construction, reconstruction or acquisition of a specific capital\nimprovement or the acquisition of a specific item or specific items of\nequipment, it shall set forth in such authorization the estimated\nmaximum cost thereof.\n 4. Any resolution of the board of fire commissioners authorizing the\nestablishment of a reserve fund shall not take effect until approved by\nthe affirmative vote of a majority of the electors of such fire district\naffected, qualified to vote at an annual election of fire district\nofficers, voting on such proposition. Any special election shall be held\nin the manner provided in section one hundred seventy-nine of the town\nlaw, as amended from time to time.\n A proposition for the submission of any such resolution of the board\nof fire commissioners to the approval of the said qualified electors\npursuant to this section, shall contain an abstract of such resolution\nconcisely stating the purposes and effect thereof. The fire district\nsecretary shall prepare such abstract with the advice of the attorney\nfor the fire district, if there be one, and forthwith transmit the\nproposition to the board of fire commissioners in the form in which it\nis to be submitted at such annual or special election of such fire\ndistrict. If there be more than one such proposition to be voted upon at\nsuch election, each proposition shall be separately and consecutively\nnumbered.\n 5. There may be paid into any such capital reserve fund:\n a. Such an amount as may be provided therefor in the annual budget of\nthe fire district adopted pursuant to section one hundred eighty-one of\nthe town law or pursuant to section one hundred eighty-one-a of the town\nlaw.\n b. Such revenues as are not required by law to be paid into any other\nfund or account, including the proceeds from the sale of any capital\nimprovement or equipment owned by such fire district.\n 6. The moneys in each such capital reserve fund shall be deposited and\nsecured in the manner provided by section ten of this article. The board\nof fire commissioners or the fire district treasurer of such fire\ndistrict, if the board of fire commissioners shall delegate such duty to\nhim, may invest the moneys in each such fund in the manner provided in\nsection eleven of this article. Any interest earned or capital gains\nrealized on the moneys so deposited or invested shall accrue to and\nbecome part of each such fund. The separate identity of each such fund\nshall be maintained, whether its assets consist of cash or investments\nor both.\n 7. An expenditure from a reserve fund shall be made only upon\nauthorization by the board of fire commissioners and for a specific\ncapital improvement or a specific item or specific items of equipment,\nthe cost of which may be financed therefrom. However, if a proposed\nexpenditure is from a fund established for a type of capital improvement\nor equipment and if it is required by law that the authorization by such\nboard of fire commissioners of the issuance of obligations for such\ncapital improvement or equipment be subject to a permissive or mandatory\nreferendum, then the authorization of such an expenditure shall be\nsubject to a permissive referendum. Within ten working days after the\nadoption by a board of fire commissioners of a resolution described in\nthis section as being subject to a permissive referendum, the fire\ndistrict secretary, in the same manner as provided for notice of annual\nelections, shall publish a notice which shall set forth the date of the\nadoption of the resolution and contain an abstract of such resolution\nconcisely stating the purposes and effect thereof. The notice shall\nspecify that such resolution was adopted subject to a permissive\nreferendum. Any such resolution of the board of fire commissioners shall\nnot take effect until thirty days after its adoption; nor until approved\nby the affirmative vote of a majority of the electors of such fire\ndistrict affected, qualified to vote at an annual election of fire\ndistrict officers, voting on such proposition, if within thirty days\nafter its adoption there be filed with the fire district secretary a\npetition signed and acknowledged or proved in the same manner as a deed\nto be recorded, by resident taxpayers of such fire district, owning\ntaxable real property aggregating at least one-quarter of the assessed\nvaluation of all the taxable real property of the fire district as such\nvaluations appear upon the latest completed assessment roll of the town\nor towns in which said fire district is located, protesting against such\nresolution and requesting that it be submitted to the qualified electors\nof the fire district affected for their approval or disapproval. If such\npetition be so filed not more than forty-five days nor less than thirty\ndays prior to an annual election of fire district officers, a\nproposition for the approval of such resolution shall be submitted at\nsuch annual election of fire district officers. If a petition be so\nfiled at any other time, a proposition for the approval of such\nresolution shall be submitted at a special fire district election to be\nheld not more than forty days after the filing of such petition. If,\nwithin five days after the filing of such petition, a written objection\nthereto be filed with the fire district secretary, and a verified\npetition setting forth the objections be presented by the person so\nfiling such objections to the supreme court or any justice thereof of\nthe judicial district in which such fire district or any part thereof is\nlocated, such court or justice within twenty days shall determine any\nquestion arising thereunder and make such order as justice may require.\nSuch proceeding shall be heard and determined in the manner prescribed\nby section 16-116 of the election law. A proposition for the submission\nof any such resolution of the board of fire commissioners to the\napproval of the said qualified electors pursuant to this section, shall\ncontain an abstract of such resolution concisely stating the purposes\nand effect thereof. The fire district secretary shall prepare such\nabstract with the advice of the attorney for the fire district, if there\nbe one, and forthwith transmit the proposition to the board of fire\ncommissioners in the form in which it is to be submitted at such annual\nor special election of such fire district. If there be more than one\nsuch proposition to be voted upon at such election, each proposition\nshall be separately and consecutively numbered.\n 8. The board of fire commissioners may authorize the transfer to the\ncredit of another capital reserve fund of such fire district all or part\nof:\n a. The unexpended balance remaining in a fund established pursuant to\nthis section for a specific capital improvement or a specific item or\nspecific items of equipment, which improvement has been completed or\nacquired, or which equipment has been acquired, after deducting from\nsuch balance a sum sufficient to satisfy all outstanding claims arising\nfrom the construction, reconstruction or acquisition of such capital\nimprovement or the acquisition of such equipment.\n b. The unexpended balance remaining in a fund established pursuant to\nthis section for a specific item or specific items of equipment which\nhave not been acquired or a specific capital improvement which has not\nbeen completed or acquired, or remaining in a fund established pursuant\nto this section for a type of capital improvement or a type of\nequipment. If the proposed transfer is from a fund established for a\nspecific capital improvement or a specific item or specific items of\nequipment, the authorization of such transfer shall be subject to a\npermissive referendum if the authorization of the creation of a fund for\nsuch capital improvement or item or items of equipment was subject to a\npermissive referendum. A permissive referendum on the authorization of\nsuch transfer shall be governed in the manner provided in subdivision\nseven of this section.\n 9. The fire district treasurer shall keep a separate account for each\nfund established. Such account shall show:\n a. The date and amount of each sum paid into the fund.\n b. The interest earned by such fund.\n c. The capital gains or losses resulting from the sale of investments\nof the fund.\n d. The interest or capital gains which have accrued to the fund.\n e. The amount and date of each withdrawal from the fund.\n f. The assets of the fund, indicating the cash balance therein and a\nschedule of the amounts invested in federal or state obligations. The\nfire district treasurer, at the termination of each fiscal year, shall\nrender a detailed report of the operation and condition of each of such\nfunds to the board of fire commissioners.\n 10. The members of the board of fire commissioners are hereby declared\ntrustees of such funds and shall be subject to all the duties and\nresponsibilities imposed by law on trustees, and such duties and\nresponsibilities may be enforced by the fire district or by any board,\ncommission, agency, officer or taxpayer thereof.\n 11. The members of the board of fire commissioners shall be guilty of\na misdemeanor if they:\n a. Authorize a withdrawal from a fund for any purpose other than for a\ncapital improvement or an item or items of equipment, the cost of which\nhas been authorized to be financed in whole or in part from such fund.\n b. Expend any money withdrawn from a fund for a purpose other than\nthat for which it was authorized to be withdrawn.\n The provisions of this subdivision shall be considered to be in\naddition to any other penalties provided by law.\n 12. The board of water commissioners of a water district to which the\nprovisions of article thirteen of the town law apply, and which has the\npowers of the fire district commissioners as provided in subdivisions\nnine to twenty-four, inclusive, of section one hundred seventy-six of\nthe town law, may establish capital reserve funds as in this section\nprovided for the financing of all or a part of the cost of capital\nimprovements and equipment for fire department and fire protection\npurposes, in the same manner and to the same extent that the board of\nfire commissioners of a fire district may establish capital reserve\nfunds for such purposes, and all of the provisions of this section shall\napply in relation to the financing of all or a part of such capital\nimprovements or equipment, and all references in this section to a fire\ndistrict shall be deemed to refer to such water district, and all\nreferences herein to a fire district secretary or treasurer shall be\ndeemed to refer to the secretary or treasurer of such board of water\ncommissioners, except that if such board of water commissioners does not\nhave a treasurer the provisions relating to the fire district treasurer\nshall be deemed to refer to the supervisor of the town in which such\nwater district is located.\n 13. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, if any\nsuch fire district is situated in whole or in part in a town which is\nwholly or partly within the Adirondack park and has within the town\nboundaries state lands subject to taxation assessed at more than thirty\nper centum of the total taxable assessed valuation of the town as\ndetermined from the assessment rolls of the town, as completed from time\nto time, a capital reserve fund for the fire district shall not be\nestablished on and after May first, nineteen hundred forty-eight, unless\nthe state comptroller, on behalf of the state, shall consent thereto,\nand, on and after May first, nineteen hundred forty-eight, in any such\nfire district so located, no expenditure or transfer shall be made from\na capital reserve fund heretofore or hereafter established unless the\nstate comptroller, on behalf of the state, shall consent thereto.\n