N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 1198-d: Water authority of Western Nassau county

§ 1198-d. Water authority of Western Nassau county. 1. A corporation

known as "water authority of Western Nassau county" is hereby created

for the purposes and charged with the duties and having the powers

provided in this title. The authority shall be a corporate governmental

agency constituting a public benefit corporation and shall be a "public

district" for the purposes of section eighty-nine-l of the public

service law. The authority shall be governed by a board of directors

consisting of nine members, two of whom shall be appointed by the town

board of the town of Hempstead and one of whom shall be appointed by the

town board of the town of North Hempstead in the same manner as officers

and employees are appointed pursuant to paragraph a of subdivision one

of section twenty of the town law. The village boards of the villages of

Bellrose, Floral Park, Garden City, New Hyde Park, South Floral Park and

Stewart Manor shall each appoint one member in the same manner as

officers are appointed pursuant to subdivision three of section 3-301 of

the village law. Each member shall serve for a period of two years.

Members shall receive no compensation for their services but shall be

entitled to reimbursement of their necessary expenses, including

traveling expenses, incurred in the discharge of their duties. Nothing

herein shall be construed as preventing a chief executive officer of a

town from being appointed as a member of the board of directors.

2. Any one or more of the members of the board of directors may be an

official or an employee of a municipality situated within the district.

In the event that an official or an employee of such municipality shall

be appointed as a member of the board of directors, acceptance or

retention of such appointment shall not be deemed a forfeiture of his or

her municipal office or employment, or incompatible therewith or affect

his or her tenure or compensation in any way.

3. No action shall be taken by the authority except pursuant to the

favorable vote of not less than fifty-one percent of the total

authorized voting strength of the board of directors. The total

authorized voting strength of the board of directors shall be equal to

100.0.

(a) The number of weighted votes possessed by each member of the board

of directors shall be determined in accordance with paragraphs (c), (d)

and (e) of this subdivision.

(b) No action shall be taken by the authority except pursuant to the

favorable vote of at least: (i) fifty-one percent of the total

authorized voting strength of the board of directors; and (ii) five

members of the board of directors.

(c) The vote of each member shall be equal to one hundred multiplied

by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be equal to the number of

customers to whom water is supplied by the authority or any other public

water supplier in the municipality from which such member was appointed

and the denominator of which shall be equal to the number of customers

to whom water is supplied by the authority or any other public water

supplier in all of the municipalities within the district. Provided,

however, in the case of the two members appointed by the town board of

the town of Hempstead, the vote of each member shall be equal to fifty

multiplied by such fraction.

(d) Based upon the water supplied to the municipalities within the

district in the year nineteen hundred ninety-two, the voting shall be

weighted as follows:

MEMBER APPOINTED BY THE TOWN OR AUTHORIZED NUMBER OF

VILLAGE BOARD OF THE: VOTES:

Town of Hempstead (1 member) 26.6

Town of Hempstead (1 member) 26.6

Village of Floral Park 14.6

Village of New Hyde Park 10.5

Town of North Hempstead 15.1

Village of Stewart Manor 2.4

Village of Bellrose 1.5

Village of South Floral Park 1.4

Village of Garden City 1.3

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Total 100.0

(e) Commencing on the first day of April, nineteen hundred

ninety-three and every four years thereafter, the authorized number of

votes of each member shall be adjusted in accordance with the formula

set forth in paragraph (c) of this subdivision to reflect the total

number of customers to whom water is supplied by the authority or any

other public water supplier in each municipality within the district

during the two calendar years immediately preceding the date on which

the adjustment is being made.

(f) Any person serving on the board of directors as of April first,

nineteen hundred ninety-two may be appointed to represent any

municipality pursuant to the provisions of subdivision one of this

section. Provided, however, that the two-year term of such person shall

be considered to have started on the date of his or her original

appointment and will expire two years from the date of such appointment.

4. The powers of the authority shall be vested in and shall be

exercised by the board of directors at a meeting duly called and held.

Six members of the board of directors, who together are authorized to

cast a majority of the weighted vote, shall constitute a quorum. The

board of directors may delegate to one or more of its members, or to one

or more of the officers, agents or employees of the authority, such

powers and duties as it may deem proper.

5. The officers of the authority shall consist of a chairperson,

treasurer, and secretary, who may, but need not be members of the board

of directors. The officers of the authority shall be appointed by the

board of directors. The board of directors may appoint and at its

pleasure remove an attorney and an engineer, which positions, in

addition to the officers above named, shall be in the exempt class of

the civil service and such additional officers and employees as it may

require for the performance of its duties, fix and determine their

qualifications, duties, compensations and terms of office or tenure,

subject to the provisions of the civil service law of the state and such

rules as the civil service commission may adopt and make applicable to

the authority. The authority may also from time to time contract for

expert professional services. The duties of the officers shall be as

follows:

(a) Chairperson. The chairperson shall be the chief executive officer

of the authority and it shall be the responsibility of the chairperson

to:

(i) preside at all meetings of the board of directors and of the

officers;

(ii) manage the water facility, the transmission facility and the

distribution system and to effectuate the decisions of the board of

directors;

(iii) exercise supervision over the conduct of the officers and

employees of the authority;

(iv) report annually to each customer, either by mail or by

publication once in a newspaper having general circulation within the

district; such report shall include but not be limited to the following

information:

(1) a brief financial account on operations of the water system

including, but not limited to, water rates, total revenues, operating

and maintenance expense, and interest on bonds and notes;

(2) the population served by the authority;

(3) the number of wells, towers and other storage facilities operated

by the authority;

(4) the total pumpage of groundwater including the amount received

through interdistrict interconnections and the estimated amount lost

from the system;

(5) the single highest level from each well of each synthetic organic

chemical, nitrate and chloride constituent tested for by the authority

at any time during the year which exceeds the applicable county water

quality standard or guideline, that standard or guideline, the site of

each well at which each reported constituent was found, and the date on

which each reported constituent was analyzed;

(6) the highest level from each well of each synthetic organic

chemical, nitrate and chloride constituent tested for by the authority

at any time during the year which does not exceed the applicable county

water standard or guideline, but which contains a level equal to or

greater than two-thirds of the amount permitted before exceeding a

standard or guideline, that standard or guideline, the site of each well

at which each reported constituent was found and the date on which each

reported constituent was analyzed;

(7) once every five years, the highest level of any constituent

discovered within the distribution system which contains a level equal

to or greater than two-thirds of the amount permitted before exceeding a

standard or guideline, that standard or guideline, and the resulting

action taken by the authority;

(8) any well restricted, removed from service or otherwise limited in

its use and the cause for such action;

(9) any actions taken to secure new supplies or replace lost capacity;

(10) the types of treatment which the water receives before entering

the distribution system;

(11) any compliance activities required by regulations of the

department of environmental conservation or the department of health or

any local health department and any instances of noncompliance;

(12) the present condition of the distribution system and any

significant actions, as determined by the authority, to improve or

maintain the system;

(13) any special public services the authority provides during the

year; and

(14) information on water conservation measures customers can

implement, such as, but not limited to, retrofitting plumbing fixtures,

altering irrigation timing, using irrigation sensors, leak detection,

proper use of water-consuming appliances, daily conscientious use of

water and estimated savings of water, energy, and money, from use of

these measures;

(v) execute all contracts in the name of the authority;

(vi) institute, at the direction of the board of directors, all civil

actions in the name of the authority;

(vii) provide for the enforcement of all of the rules and regulations

of the authority and cause all violations thereof to be prosecuted;

(viii) sign orders to pay claims when authorized by the board of

directors;

(ix) sign checks in the absence or inability of the treasurer or

deputy treasurer, if any, when authorized by the board of directors; and

a certified copy of a resolution of the board of directors to that

effect shall be notice to the depository of such authorization;

(x) appoint, subject to the approval of the board of directors,

non-elected officers, counsel, accountants, and other financial

advisors, engineers and other technical advisors;

(xi) employ, promote and discharge managers, supervisors and

employees; and

(xii) take all other reasonable and necessary actions to carry out his

or her office as the chief executive of the authority. If the

chairperson has not been appointed as a member of the board of directors

of the authority pursuant to this section, such chairperson shall be

deemed an ex officio member of the board of directors. Such status shall

not carry with it the right to vote on matters coming before the board

of directors nor shall the presence of such chairperson be counted for

the purpose of determining a quorum.

(b) Secretary. (i) The secretary shall be the recording and

corresponding officer of the authority and the custodian of the records

of the authority.

(ii) The secretary shall prepare and send required notices of all

meetings when directed to do so by the chairperson or by the written

request of four members who have specified the issues to be discussed at

the meeting.

(iii) In the absence or disability of the secretary, the chairperson

may appoint a temporary secretary.

(c) Treasurer. (i) The treasurer shall have custody of all moneys

belonging to the authority and keep accounts of all receipts and

expenditures in conformance with a uniform system of accounts formulated

and prescribed by the comptroller pursuant to section thirty-six of the

general municipal law.

(ii) The treasurer shall execute a bond, conditioned upon the faithful

performance of the duties of his or her office, the amount and

sufficiency of which shall be approved by the board of directors and the

premium therefor shall be paid by the authority.

(iii) The treasurer shall deposit, within ten days after receipt

thereof, in the name of the authority, in one or more banks, and/or

trust companies, designated by the board of directors, all moneys

received by him or her.

(iv) The treasurer may sign checks with the facsimile signature of the

treasurer, as reproduced by a machine or device commonly known as a

checksigner, when authorized by the board of directors.

(v) The treasurer shall pay out moneys from the authority treasury

only as authorized by the board of directors and by law. All such

payments, except as may be authorized by the board of directors for a

petty cash account, shall be by check.

(vi) The treasurer shall issue a report on the finances of the

authority at each regular meeting of the board of directors.

(vii) The treasurer shall file in the office of the authority, within

sixty days after the end of the fiscal year, a statement showing in

detail all revenues and expenditures during the previous fiscal year and

the outstanding indebtedness of the authority as of the end of the

fiscal year. The members shall, within ten days, cause to be published

once in a newspaper having general circulation within the district, a

notice that the annual financial statement has been filed and is

available for inspection or a summary of such statement in a form

approved by the comptroller, with an endorsement thereon that details

thereof are on file in the office of the authority. The members shall

cause to be audited by a certified public accountant engaged for that

purpose, such report and supporting records.

6. The officers of the authority shall receive such compensation for

their services as shall be fixed by the board of directors and shall be

reimbursed for all necessary and actual expenses incurred in connection

with their duties as such officers and in connection with the carrying

out of the purposes of this title.

7. The authority and its corporate existence shall continue until

terminated by law or terminated pursuant to an affirmative vote of at

least six members of the board of directors, who together are authorized

to cast at least ninety-five votes, to retain the water supply system

within the district which is in existence as of the effective date of

this title; provided, however, that no such law or vote shall take

effect so long as the agency shall have bonds or other obligations

outstanding unless adequate provision has been made for the payment or

satisfaction thereof. Except as provided in paragraph (d) of subdivision

one of section eleven hundred ninety-eight-e of this article, upon

termination of the existence of the authority, all of the rights and

properties of the authority then remaining shall pass to and vest in the

municipalities within the district. Such property shall be apportioned

and distributed so each municipality shall receive the property located

within its boundaries.

8. In addition to any powers granted to it by law, the governing body

of each of the municipalities within the district, from time to time,

may appropriate sums of money to defray project costs or any other costs

and expenses of the authority. Subject to the rights of bondholders,

each governing body may determine if the moneys so appropriated shall be

subject to repayment by the authority to the municipalities, and in such

event, the manner and time or times for such repayment.

9. Neither the public service commission nor any other board or

commission of like character, shall have jurisdiction over the authority

in the management and control of its properties or operations or any

power over the regulation of rates fixed or charges collected by the

authority.

10. For the purposes of article fifteen-A of the executive law only,

the authority shall be deemed a state agency as that term is used in

such article, and its contracts for design, construction, services and

materials shall be deemed state contracts within the meaning of that

term as set forth in such article.

11. It is hereby determined and declared that the authority and the

carrying out of its powers, purposes and duties are in all respects for

the benefit of the people of the municipalities within the district and

state, for the improvement of their health, welfare and prosperity and

that the said purposes are public purposes and that the authority is and

will be performing an essential governmental function in the exercise of

the powers conferred upon it by this title.