§ 1174-D — Water authority of Southeastern Nassau county

New York § 1174-D

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law PBA: Public Authorities
• Title 7-A: Water Authority of Southeastern Nassau County
• Art. 5: Public Utility Authorities

Text

§ 1174-d. Water authority of Southeastern Nassau county. 1. A\ncorporation known as "water authority of Southeastern Nassau county" is\nhereby created for the purposes and charged with the duties and having\nthe powers provided in this title. The authority shall be a corporate\ngovernmental agency constituting a public benefit corporation and shall\nbe a "public district" for the purposes of section eighty-nine-l of the\npublic service law. The authority shall be governed by a board of\ndirectors consisting of five members, three of whom shall be appointed\nby the town board of the town of Hempstead and two of whom shall be\nappointed by the town board of the town of Oyster Bay in the same manner\nas officers and employees are appointed pursuant to paragraph a of\nsubdivision one of section twenty of the town law. Each member shall\nserve for a period of two years. Each chief executive officer shall file\nwith the secretary of state a certificate of appointment or\nreappointment of any member appointed or reappointed by such chief\nexecutive within thirty days of the appointment or reappointment.\nMembers shall receive no compensation for their services but shall be\nentitled to reimbursement of their necessary expenses, including\ntraveling expenses, incurred in the discharge of their duties.\n 2. Any one or more of the members of the board of directors may be an\nofficial or an employee of a municipality situated within the district.\nIn the event that an official or an employee of such municipality shall\nbe appointed as a member of the board of directors, acceptance or\nretention of such appointment shall not be deemed a forfeiture of his or\nher municipal office or employment, or incompatible therewith or affect\nhis or her tenure or compensation in any way.\n 3. No action shall be taken by the authority except pursuant to the\nfavorable vote of three members of the board of directors.\n 4. The powers of the authority shall be vested in and shall be\nexercised by the board of directors at a meeting duly called and held.\nThree members of the board of directors shall constitute a quorum. The\nboard of directors may delegate to one or more of its members, or to one\nor more of the officers, agents or employees of the authority, such\npowers and duties as it may deem proper.\n 5. The officers of the authority shall consist of a chairperson,\ntreasurer, and secretary, who may, but need not be members of the board\nof directors. The officers of the authority shall be appointed by the\nboard of directors. The board of directors may appoint and at its\npleasure remove an attorney and an engineer, which positions, in\naddition to the officers above named, shall be in the exempt class of\nthe civil service and such additional officers and employees as it may\nrequire for the performance of its duties, fix and determine their\nqualifications, duties, compensations and terms of office or tenure,\nsubject to the provisions of the civil service law of the state and such\nrules as the civil service commission may adopt and make applicable to\nthe authority. The authority may also from time to time contract for\nexpert professional services. The duties of the officers shall be as\nfollows:\n (a) Chairperson. The chairperson shall be the chief executive officer\nof the authority and it shall be the responsibility of the chairperson\nto:\n (i) preside at all meetings of the board of directors and of the\nofficers;\n (ii) manage the water facility, the transmission facility and the\ndistribution system and to effectuate the decisions of the board of\ndirectors;\n (iii) exercise supervision over the conduct of the officers and\nemployees of the authority;\n (iv) report annually to each customer, either by mail or by\npublication once in a newspaper having general circulation within the\ndistrict; such report shall include but not be limited to the following\ninformation:\n (1) a brief financial account on operations of the water system\nincluding, but not limited to, water rates, total revenues, operating\nand maintenance expense, and interest on bonds and notes;\n (2) the population served by the authority;\n (3) the number of wells, towers and other storage facilities operated\nby the authority;\n (4) the total pumpage of groundwater including the amount received\nthrough interdistrict interconnections and the estimated amount lost\nfrom the system;\n (5) the single highest level from each well of each synthetic organic\nchemical, nitrate and chloride constituent tested for by the authority\nat any time during the year which exceeds the applicable county water\nquality standard or guideline, that standard or guideline, the site of\neach well at which each reported constituent was found, and the date on\nwhich each reported constituent was analyzed;\n (6) the highest level from each well of each synthetic organic\nchemical, nitrate and chloride constituent tested for by the authority\nat any time during the year which does not exceed the applicable county\nwater standard or guideline, but which contains a level equal to or\ngreater than two-thirds of the amount permitted before exceeding a\nstandard or guideline, that standard or guideline, the site of each well\nat which each reported constituent was found and the date on which each\nreported constituent was analyzed;\n (7) once every five years, the highest level of any constituent\ndiscovered within the distribution system which contains a level equal\nto or greater than two-thirds of the amount permitted before exceeding a\nstandard or guideline, that standard or guideline, and the resulting\naction taken by the authority;\n (8) any well restricted, removed from service or otherwise limited in\nits use and the cause for such action;\n (9) any actions taken to secure new supplies or replace lost capacity;\n (10) the types of treatment which the water receives before entering\nthe distribution system;\n (11) any compliance activities required by regulations of the\ndepartment of environmental conservation or the department of health or\nany local health department and any instances of noncompliance;\n (12) the present condition of the distribution system and any\nsignificant actions, as determined by the authority, to improve or\nmaintain the system;\n (13) any special public services the authority provides during the\nyear; and\n (14) information on water conservation measures customers can\nimplement, such as, but not limited to, retrofitting plumbing fixtures,\naltering irrigation timing, using irrigation sensors, leak detection,\nproper use of water-consuming appliances, daily conscientious use of\nwater and estimated savings of water, energy, and money, from use of\nthese measures;\n (v) execute all contracts in the name of the authority;\n (vi) institute, at the direction of the board of directors, all civil\nactions in the name of the authority;\n (vii) provide for the enforcement of all of the rules and regulations\nof the authority and cause all violations thereof to be prosecuted;\n (viii) sign orders to pay claims when authorized by the board of\ndirectors;\n (ix) sign checks in the absence or inability of the treasurer or\ndeputy treasurer, if any, when authorized by the board of directors; and\na certified copy of a resolution of the board of directors to that\neffect shall be notice to the depository of such authorization;\n (x) appoint, subject to the approval of the board of directors,\nnon-elected officers, counsel, accountants, and other financial\nadvisors, engineers and other technical advisors;\n (xi) employ, promote and discharge managers, supervisors and\nemployees; and\n (xii) take all other reasonable and necessary actions to carry out his\nor her office as the chief executive of the authority. If the\nchairperson has not been appointed as a member of the board of directors\nof the authority pursuant to this section, such chairperson shall be\ndeemed an ex officio member of the board of directors. Such status shall\nnot carry with it the right to vote on matters coming before the board\nof directors nor shall the presence of such chairperson be counted for\nthe purpose of determining a quorum.\n (b) Secretary. (i) The secretary shall be the recording and\ncorresponding officer of the authority and the custodian of the records\nof the authority.\n (ii) The secretary shall prepare and send required notices of all\nmeetings when directed to do so by the chairperson or by the written\nrequest of four members who have specified the issues to be discussed at\nthe meeting.\n (iii) In the absence or disability of the secretary, the chairperson\nmay appoint a temporary secretary.\n (c) Treasurer. (i) The treasurer shall have custody of all moneys\nbelonging to the authority and keep accounts of all receipts and\nexpenditures in conformance with a uniform system of accounts formulated\nand prescribed by the comptroller pursuant to section thirty-six of the\ngeneral municipal law.\n (ii) The treasurer shall execute a bond, conditioned upon the faithful\nperformance of the duties of his or her office, the amount and\nsufficiency of which shall be approved by the board of directors and the\npremium therefor shall be paid by the authority.\n (iii) The treasurer shall deposit, within ten days after receipt\nthereof, in the name of the authority, in one or more banks, and/or\ntrust companies, designated by the board of directors, all moneys\nreceived by him or her.\n (iv) The treasurer may sign checks with the facsimile signature of the\ntreasurer, as reproduced by a machine or device commonly known as a\nchecksigner, when authorized by the board of directors.\n (v) The treasurer shall pay out moneys from the authority treasury\nonly as authorized by the board of directors and by law. All such\npayments, except as may be authorized by the board of directors for a\npetty cash account, shall be by check.\n (vi) The treasurer shall issue a report on the finances of the\nauthority at each regular meeting of the board of directors.\n (vii) The treasurer shall file in the office of the authority, within\nsixty days after the end of the fiscal year, a statement showing in\ndetail all revenues and expenditures during the previous fiscal year and\nthe outstanding indebtedness of the authority as of the end of the\nfiscal year. The members shall, within ten days, cause to be published\nonce in a newspaper having general circulation within the district, a\nnotice that the annual financial statement has been filed and is\navailable for inspection or a summary of such statement in a form\napproved by the comptroller, with an endorsement thereon that details\nthereof are on file in the office of the authority. The members shall\ncause to be audited by a certified public accountant engaged for that\npurpose, such report and supporting records.\n 6. The officers of the authority shall receive such compensation for\ntheir services as shall be fixed by the board of directors and shall be\nreimbursed for all necessary and actual expenses incurred in connection\nwith their duties as such officers and in connection with the carrying\nout of the purposes of this title.\n 7. The authority and its corporate existence shall continue until\nterminated by law or terminated pursuant to an affirmative vote of all\nfive members of the board of directors to retain the water supply system\nwithin the district which is in existence as of the effective date of\nthis title; provided, however, that no such law or vote shall take\neffect so long as the agency shall have bonds or other obligations\noutstanding unless adequate provision has been made for the payment or\nsatisfaction thereof. Except as provided in paragraph (d) of subdivision\none of section eleven hundred seventy-four-e of this article, upon\ntermination of the existence of the authority, all of the rights and\nproperties of the authority then remaining shall pass to and vest in the\ntowns within the district. Such property shall be apportioned and\ndistributed so each town shall receive the property located within its\nboundaries.\n 8. In addition to any powers granted to it by law, the governing body\nof each of the towns within the district, from time to time, may\nappropriate sums of money to defray project costs or any other costs and\nexpenses of the authority. Subject to the rights of bondholders, each\ngoverning body may determine if the moneys so appropriated shall be\nsubject to repayment by the authority to the towns, and in such event,\nthe manner and time or times for such repayment.\n 9. For the purposes of article fifteen-A of the executive law only,\nthe authority shall be deemed a state agency as that term is used in\nsuch article, and its contracts for design, construction, services and\nmaterials shall be deemed state contracts within the meaning of that\nterm as set forth in such article.\n 10. It is hereby determined and declared that the authority and the\ncarrying out of its powers, purposes and duties are in all respects for\nthe benefit of the people of the towns within the district and state,\nfor the improvement of their health, welfare and prosperity and that the\nsaid purposes are public purposes and that the authority is and will be\nperforming an essential governmental function in the exercise of the\npowers conferred upon it by this title.\n 11. (a) The county executive shall file on or before March\nthirty-first of the year following the year in which this title shall\nhave become law, in the office of the secretary of state, a certificate\nsigned by the county executive setting forth: (1) the name of the\nauthority; (2) the names of the members appointed by the county\nexecutive and their terms of office; and (3) the effective date of this\ntitle. The authority shall be perpetual in duration, except that if such\ncertificate is not filed with the secretary of state on or before such\ndate, then the corporate existence of the authority shall thereupon\nterminate and it shall thereupon be deemed to be and shall be dissolved.\n (b) Except as provided in paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the\nauthority and its corporate existence shall continue until terminated by\nlaw, provided, however, that no such law shall take effect so long as\nthe authority shall have bonds or other obligations outstanding unless\nadequate provision has been made for the payment or satisfaction\nthereof. Upon termination of the existence of the authority, all of the\nrights and properties of the authority then remaining shall pass to and\nvest in the county.\n