N.Y. Local Finance Law § 15.20: Limitations on amount of local indebtedness; exclusions of certain indebtedness

§ 15.20 Limitations on amount of local indebtedness; exclusions of

certain indebtedness. a. The provisions of section 104.00 of this

chapter shall be applicable in relation to the powers of counties,

cities, towns, villages and school districts in cities to contract

indebtedness, and the powers of other school districts to issue bonds

and bond anticipation notes, in connection with a joint service or joint

water, sewage or drainage project; provided, however, that the amount of

the joint indebtedness of any such municipal corporation or municipality

therefor shall not exceed the amount allocated and apportioned as

provided in or pursuant to the provisions of section 15.10 of this

chapter.

b. In ascertaining the power of a county, city, town or village to

contract indebtedness, there shall be excluded any joint indebtedness

and any several indebtedness contracted to provide for the supply of

water. Any such indebtedness for such purpose shall not be excluded in

ascertaining the power of any school district to contract indebtedness.

The provisions of paragraph c of this section shall not apply to

indebtedness contracted to provide for the supply of water.

c. In ascertaining the power of a county, city, town or village to

contract indebtedness there shall be excluded any joint indebtedness or

several indebtedness contracted or proposed to be contracted for a joint

service, other than a joint sewage or drainage project, to the extent

permitted by paragraph C of section five of article eight of the

constitution, as implemented by section 123.00 of this chapter. The

provisions of this paragraph shall not be deemed to affect or impair any

other existing exclusions of indebtedness granted by any other provision

of this chapter or the constitution. Any such municipal corporation, or

all of such municipal corporations, participating in a joint service,

other than a joint sewage or drainage project, may apply to the state

comptroller for a conclusive determination of the amount or amounts of

any such indebtedness contracted or proposed to be contracted for such

joint service to be excluded pursuant to the provisions of section

123.00 of this chapter. The provisions of such section, other than

subdivision two of paragraph b thereof, shall be applicable in relation

to any such application, and the procedural provisions thereof shall be

liberally construed to effectuate the provisions of paragraph C of

section five of article eight of the constitution. Where there is a

joint application and the fiscal years of the municipal corporations are

not the same, the term "preceding fiscal year," as used in section

123.00, shall, for the purposes of this section, mean "preceding year."

If an application is not made jointly by all of the chief fiscal

officers of the participating municipal corporations, written notice of

such application shall be given, prior to the filing of the application

with the state comptroller, to the chief fiscal officer of each

participating municipal corporation not joining in such application. In

the case of a joint application the notice required to be published

under the provisions of paragraph h of section 123.00 shall be published

in the official newspaper or newspapers of each of the participating

municipal corporations, or if there be no such newspaper or newspapers,

then in one or more newspapers having general circulation in such

municipal corporations as the finance boards shall designate, except

that where any newspaper is the official newspaper of all of the

participating municipal corporations, or is the only newspaper

designated by the finance boards as a newspaper having general

circulation in all of the participating municipal corporations, only one

notice need be published in any such newspaper. Where there is a joint

application in relation to a joint service which has been in operation

for one year, and the fiscal years of the municipal corporations are not

the same, the certificate of the state comptroller shall be effective

only until the first day of the fourth month following the close of the

year of operation described in the application.

d. In ascertaining the power of a municipality to contract

indebtedness there shall be excluded all or any part of the joint

indebtedness or several indebtedness contracted or proposed to be

contracted for a joint sewage or drainage project the amount or amounts

of which shall be determined conclusively by the state comptroller in

the same manner as provided in paragraph c of this section, except that,

in any proceeding under this paragraph, any requirement that the

improvement, or part thereof, or service shall have yielded net revenue

during the preceding fiscal year or preceding year in a sum equal to

twenty-five per centum or more of the amount required in such year for

the payment of the interest on an amortization of, or payment of,

indebtedness, as set forth in subdivisions one and three of paragraph b

and in subdivision two of paragraph c of section 123.00, shall not be

applicable.