Legislation
SECTION 1197-D
Water authority of Great Neck north
Public Authorities (PBA) CHAPTER 43-A, ARTICLE 5, TITLE 8-B
§ 1197-d. Water authority of Great Neck north. 1. A corporation known
as "water authority of Great Neck north" 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 eight members. The chief executive officers of the
villages of Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, Great Neck Plaza,
Kensington, Kings Point, Saddle Rock, Thomaston and the town of North
Hempstead shall each appoint one member. 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 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 herein 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. 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 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 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) four
members of the board of directors, at least two of whom must be from
among the four members of the board of directors possessing the greatest
number of weighted votes.
(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 quantity of
water supplied by the authority to the owners, tenants, occupants and
other water users in the municipality from which such member was
appointed and the denominator of which shall be equal to the quantity of
water supplied by the authority to the owners, tenants, occupants and
other water users in all of the municipalities within the district.
(d) Based upon the water supplied to the municipalities within the
district in nineteen hundred eighty-two, the voting shall be weighted as
follows:
MEMBER APPOINTED BY THE CHIEF AUTHORIZED NUMBER
EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE OF VOTES
Village of Kings Point 32.9
Village of Great Neck 24.4
Village of Great Neck Plaza 14.2
Village of Great Neck Estates 11.7
Town of North Hempstead 8.0
Village of Kensington 4.4
Village of Saddle Rock 3.9
Village of Thomaston 0.5
----
total 100.0
(e) Commencing on the first day of April, nineteen hundred eighty-nine
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 quantity of water
supplied by the authority to owners, tenants, occupants and other water
users in each municipality within the district during the two calendar
years immediately preceding the date on which the adjustment is being
made.
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.
Five 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, vice
chairperson, deputy 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) 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.
6. The term 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.
7. 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.
8. 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 agency 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 weighted voting on the date of the
termination of the authority.
9. 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.
10. 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.
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.
as "water authority of Great Neck north" 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 eight members. The chief executive officers of the
villages of Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, Great Neck Plaza,
Kensington, Kings Point, Saddle Rock, Thomaston and the town of North
Hempstead shall each appoint one member. 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 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 herein 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. 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 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 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) four
members of the board of directors, at least two of whom must be from
among the four members of the board of directors possessing the greatest
number of weighted votes.
(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 quantity of
water supplied by the authority to the owners, tenants, occupants and
other water users in the municipality from which such member was
appointed and the denominator of which shall be equal to the quantity of
water supplied by the authority to the owners, tenants, occupants and
other water users in all of the municipalities within the district.
(d) Based upon the water supplied to the municipalities within the
district in nineteen hundred eighty-two, the voting shall be weighted as
follows:
MEMBER APPOINTED BY THE CHIEF AUTHORIZED NUMBER
EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE OF VOTES
Village of Kings Point 32.9
Village of Great Neck 24.4
Village of Great Neck Plaza 14.2
Village of Great Neck Estates 11.7
Town of North Hempstead 8.0
Village of Kensington 4.4
Village of Saddle Rock 3.9
Village of Thomaston 0.5
----
total 100.0
(e) Commencing on the first day of April, nineteen hundred eighty-nine
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 quantity of water
supplied by the authority to owners, tenants, occupants and other water
users in each municipality within the district during the two calendar
years immediately preceding the date on which the adjustment is being
made.
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.
Five 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, vice
chairperson, deputy 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) 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.
6. The term 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.
7. 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.
8. 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 agency 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 weighted voting on the date of the
termination of the authority.
9. 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.
10. 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.
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.