2023 New York Laws › PBA - Public Authorities › Article 5 - Public Utility Authorities › Title 5-A*2 - North Shore Water Authority › 1114-D*2 - Water Authority of North Shore.

* §  1114-d. Water authority of North Shore. 1. A corporation known as
"water authority of North Shore" 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 six members. The
governing boards of the villages of Old Brookville,  Sea  Cliff,  Roslyn
Harbor,  and  the  City  of Glen Cove shall each appoint one member. The
governing board of the Town of Oyster  Bay  shall  appoint  two  members
representing  the  residents  of the unincorporated hamlets of Glen Head
and Glenwood Landing who are serviced by the water  authority  of  North
Shore.  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  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  water
authority  of  North Shore 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  water  authority  of  North  Shore
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 each of the towns of North Hempstead, Oyster Bay, and  city
of  Glen  Cove  within  the portions of the towns of North Hempstead and
Oyster Bay and the city of Glen Cove serviced by the New  York  American
water service corporation.
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  water
authority  of  North  Shore  district,  the  authority  is authorized to
provide registered voters within the  area  serviced  by  the  New  York
American  water  service corporation within the water authority of North
Shore 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  water
authority  of  North  Shore  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 water authority
of  North  Shore district. The proposition shall be placed on the ballot

and voted upon at a special election or 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  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:
(a) The number of weighted votes possessed by each member of the board
of directors shall be determined in accordance with paragraphs (b),  (c)
and  (d)  of  this  subdivision,  except each member shall possess equal
weighted votes prior to the adjustment pursuant to paragraph (d) 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)  three
members  of  the  board of directors, at least two of whom shall 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; and
(d) Commencing on the first day of January, two thousand twenty-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 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.
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.
Four 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.
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
weighted 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