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This entry was published on 2022-02-04
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SECTION 1114-D
South Nassau water authority
Public Authorities (PBA) CHAPTER 43-A, ARTICLE 5, TITLE 5-A
* § 1114-d. South Nassau water authority. 1. A corporation known as
"South Nassau water authority" 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 of the public service law. The authority
shall be governed by a board of directors consisting of five members.
The governing board of the town of Hempstead shall appoint three
members, and the Nassau county legislature shall appoint two members who
are residents serviced by the water authority of South Nassau. Each
member shall serve for a period of two years. Each chief executive
officer shall file with the secretary of state a certificate of
appointment or reappointment of any member appointed or reappointed by
such chief executive officer within thirty days of the appointment or
reappointment. 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 in this section shall be construed as preventing a chief
executive officer of a municipality from appointing himself or herself
to be a member of the board of directors.

2. If the authority decides to enter into a contract to purchase or
otherwise acquire an interest in the New York American water service
corporation or to initiate a condemnation proceeding pursuant to the
eminent domain procedure law for the area it services within the South
Nassau water authority district, prior to entering into any contract to
purchase or otherwise acquire an interest in the New York American water
service corporation or the initiation of any condemnation proceeding by
the authority pursuant to the eminent domain procedure law for the area
it services within the South Nassau water authority district, the
authority shall provide ratepayers within the area serviced by the New
York American water service corporation and the public with public
forums for the expression and discussion of views regarding such
purchase, acquisition or condemnation of the New York American water
service corporation. The authority shall hold at least one forum in the
town of Hempstead.

3. If the authority decides to enter into a contract to purchase or
otherwise acquire an interest in the New York American water service
corporation or to initiate a condemnation proceeding pursuant to the
eminent domain procedure law for the area it services within the South
Nassau water authority district, the authority is authorized to provide
registered voters within the area serviced by the New York American
water service corporation within the South Nassau water authority
district prior to entering into such contract to purchase or otherwise
acquire an interest in the New York American water service corporation
or the initiation of any condemnation proceeding by the authority
pursuant to the eminent domain procedure law for the area the New York
American water service corporation services within the South Nassau
water authority district, with a nonbinding referendum, regarding
whether the authority should enter into a contract to purchase or
otherwise acquire an interest in the New York American water service
corporation or initiate condemnation proceedings pursuant to the eminent
domain procedure law for the area it services within the South Nassau
water authority district. The proposition shall be placed on the ballot
and voted upon at a special election on a date to be determined by the
Nassau county board of elections.

4. 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 elected 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.

5. No action shall be taken by the authority except pursuant to the
favorable vote of a simple majority of the board of directors.

6. 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.
Three members of the board of directors, who together are authorized to
cast a majority of the 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.

7. The officers of the authority shall consist of a chairperson, vice
chairperson, deputy chairperson, treasurer, and secretary, who shall 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 expenses, 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,
nonelected 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) Vice chairperson. The vice chairperson shall perform all duties
delegated to him or her by the chairperson and, in the absence or during
the disability of the chairperson, the vice chairperson shall act as
chairperson.

(c) Deputy chairperson. The deputy chairperson shall perform all
duties delegated to him or her by the chairperson or the vice
chairperson.

(d) 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.

(e) 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.

8. The terms of the chairperson, vice chairperson and deputy
chairperson first appointed shall be staggered, the chairperson first
appointed shall serve for a period of four years, the vice chairperson
first appointed shall serve for a period of three years and the deputy
chairperson first appointed shall serve for a period of two years;
thereafter their successors shall serve for terms of four years. The
remaining officers shall each serve terms of one year. The board of
directors shall have the right, at any time, to extend any such term,
for a period of months, to provide that such term terminates
contemporaneously with the end of the fiscal year of the authority.

9. 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.

10. The authority and its corporate existence shall continue until
terminated by law; provided, however, that no such law shall take effect
so long as the authority shall have bonds or other obligations
outstanding unless adequate provision has been made for the payment or
satisfaction thereof. 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 among the
municipalities within the district in direct proportion to their voting
on the date of the termination of the authority.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

* NB There are 2 § 1114-d's