NY Pub Auth L § 1197-D (2021)
2021 New York Laws PBA - Public Authorities Article 5 - Public Utility Authorities Title 8-B - Water Authority of Great Neck North 1197-D - Water Authority of Great Neck North.

§  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.