AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE ISSUANCE OF CERTAIN BONDS BY THE TOWN OF DRACUT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. The town of Dracut may issue bonds or notes from time to time in an aggregate amount not to exceed $2,175,000 for the purpose of funding the town's liability attributable to the additional benefits payable under the early retirement incentive program authorized by chapter 116 of the acts of 2002 and the vote of the town passed under Article 22 of the warrant for the 2002 annual town meeting, and to provide for issuance costs and other necessary or incidental expenses. Bonds or notes issued under this act shall be outside the limit of indebtedness prescribed in section 10 of chapter 44 of the General Laws, shall be issued for terms of not more than 20 years from their date of issue and, except as otherwise provided in this act, shall be subject to the applicable provisions of said chapter 44.
SECTION 2. The maturities of bonds or notes issued under this act shall be arranged so that for each issue the annual combined payments of principal and interest shall be as nearly equal as practicable, in the opinion of the treasurer and board of selectmen, or in accordance with a schedule providing for a more rapid amortization of principal.
SECTION 3. Proceeds of any bonds or notes issued under this act, other than amounts to be applied to issuance costs or other expenses, shall be paid by the town of Dracut to the Middlesex retirement system, shall be allocated solely to reduce the liability to which the bonds or notes relate, shall be invested as permitted under chapter 32 of the General Laws, and shall otherwise be held and expended by the Middlesex retirement system, and no further payments to that system by the town shall be required with respect to the liability to which the bonds and notes relate.
SECTION 4. Before the issue of any bonds or notes under this act, the town of Dracut shall submit to the executive office for administration and finance a plan showing the amount of the bonds and notes to be issued, the amount of the unfunded pension liability to be funded with the proceeds of the bonds and notes, the proposed maturity schedule of the bonds and notes, the proposed allocation of, if any, and plan to finance the principal of and interest on the bonds and notes, the present value savings reasonably expected to be achieved as a result of the issue of the bonds or notes, and any other information requested by the secretary for administration and finance relating to the bonds and notes. No bonds or notes shall be issued under this act until the secretary of administration and finance has approved the plan and specifically approved the maturity schedule of the bonds or notes if required by section 2.
SECTION 5. Notwithstanding chapter 70 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the portion of the annual debt service paid by the town for bonds or notes issued under this act equal to the total of the annual debt service multiplied by the ratio of the portion of the liability funded by the proceeds of these bonds or notes related to nonteacher employees of the town public school system to the total such liability shall be included as net school spending of the town for the purposes of said chapter 70 or any other law.
SECTION 6. The vote of the town of Dracut passed under Article 3 of the warrant for the town of Dracut town meeting, on November 1, 2004, authorizing a borrowing of $2,175,000 for the purposes described in section 1, is hereby ratified and confirmed in all respects.
SECTION 7. This act shall take effect upon its passage.