§ 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.