Explanation
This ordinance authorizes the issuance and sale of a special assessment bond in the amount of $49,992.00 for the Case Road Street Lighting Project. The bond will be sold to the Trustees of the Sinking Fund. The bond proceeds will allow for the retirement of a previously issued special assessment note which is maturing on July 16, 2009.
Title
Authorizing the issuance and sale of special assessment bonds in the approximate amount of $49,992 for the Case Road Street Light Assessment Project. ($49,992). Section 55(b) of the City Charter
Body
WHEREAS, pursuant to Ordinance 0449-2008 adopted March 31, 2008, this Council determined to proceed with the street lighting project described below in accordance with Resolution 0192X-2007 adopted by this Council on December 10, 2007; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Ordinance 1146-2008 adopted July 14, 2008 notes in the principal amount of $69,000 (the "Outstanding Notes") were issued in anticipation of the issuance of bonds in anticipation of the levy and collection of special assessments for the purpose hereinafter stated; and
WHEREAS, the City Auditor has certified to this Council that the estimated life of the improvements to be constructed from the proceeds of the bonds and notes hereinafter referred to exceeds five (5) years, the maximum maturity of bonds being ten (10) years; and
WHEREAS, it is deemed necessary to issue bonds in the amount of $49,992 to provide for the payment of a portion of the principal of and interest on the Outstanding Notes;
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
Section 1. Bonds of the City of Columbus, Ohio (the "Municipality") shall be issued in the principal sum of Forty Thousand Nine Hundred Ninety-Two Dollars ($49,992) (the "Bonds"), or such lesser amount as shall be determined by the Director of Finance and Management and certified to this Board, in anticipation of the levy and collection of special assessments. The Bonds shall be issued for the purpose of providing funds to pay the costs of installing a high pressure sodium street lighting system with ornamental poles and underground wiring for Case Road, including Case Road from Cleveland Avenue to the city corporation limit east of Walford Street in the City of Columbus, Ohio and to retire notes previously issued for such purpose.
Section 2. There shall be and is hereby levied annually on all the taxable property in the Municipality, in addition to all other taxes and inside the ten mill limitation, a direct tax (the "Debt Service Levy") for each year during which any of the Bonds are outstanding, for the purpose of providing, and in an amount which is sufficient to provide, funds to pay interest upon the Bonds as and when the same falls due and to provide a fund for the repayment of the principal of the Bonds at maturity or upon redemption. The Debt Service Levy shall not be less than the interest and sinking fund tax required by Article XII, Section 11 of the Ohio Constitution.
Section 3. The Debt Service Levy shall be and is hereby ordered computed, certified, levied and extended upon the tax duplicate and collected by the same officers, in the same manner, and at the same time that taxes for general purposes for each of such years are certified, extended and collected. The Debt Service Levy shall be placed before and in preference to all other items and for the full amount thereof. The funds derived from the Debt Service Levy shall be placed in a separate and distinct fund, which shall be irrevocably pledged for the payment of the premium, if any, and interest on and principal of the Bonds when and as the same falls due. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Municipality determines that funds will be available from other sources for the payment of the Bonds in any year, the amount of the Debt Service Levy for such year shall be reduced by the amount of funds which will be so available, and the Municipality shall appropriate such funds to the payment of the Bonds in accordance with law.
Section 4. The Bonds shall be designated "City of Columbus, Ohio Case Road Street Light Assessment Bonds".
Section 5. The Bonds shall be issued as one fully registered bond which shall be numbered R-1, shall be dated July 16, 2009 and shall bear interest, payable annually on such dates as shall be set forth in the Certificate of Fiscal Officer Relating to Terms of Bonds (as defined herein below), until the principal sum is paid or provision has been duly made therefor. Interest shall be calculated on the basis of a 360-day year of twelve 30-day months.
The City Auditor or the Director of Finance and Management is hereby authorized and directed to execute of behalf of the City a Certificate of Fiscal Officer Relating to Terms of the Bonds (the "Certificate of Fiscal Officer") setting forth the principal amount and the final terms of the Bonds, which principal amount and terms, are subject to the limitations set forth in this Ordinance. The Certificate of Fiscal Officer shall indicate the dates on which interest on the Bonds is to be paid (the "Interest Payment Date"), the maturity schedule for the Bonds (provided that the maximum maturity date of the Bonds shall not be later than ten (10) years from their date), the interest rate for the Bonds (provided that the true interest cost for all Bonds in the aggregate shall not exceed five per centum (5.00%) per annum), the optional and mandatory redemption provisions, if any, and such other terms not inconsistent with this Ordinance.
Section 6. The Bonds shall set forth the purposes for which they are issued and state that they are issued pursuant to the Bond Ordinance and shall be executed by the Mayor and the City Auditor of the Municipality, in their official capacities, provided that any of those signatures may be a facsimile. No Bond shall be valid or become obligatory for any purpose or shall be entitled to any security or benefit under the Bond Ordinance unless and until a certificate of authentication, as printed on the Bond, is signed by the Bond Registrar (as defined in Section 7 hereof) as authenticating agent. Authentication by the Bond Registrar shall be conclusive evidence that the Bond so authenticated has been duly issued and delivered under the Bond Ordinance and is entitled to the security and benefit of the Bond Ordinance.
The principal of and interest on the Bonds shall be payable in lawful money of the United States of America without deduction for the services of the Bond Registrar as paying agent. Except for the final payment of interest on and principal of the Bonds, interest on and mandatory sinking fund redemption payments of principal of the Bonds shall be paid on each Interest Payment Date by check or draft mailed to the person in whose name the Bond is registered, at the close of business on the 15th day (unless such 15th day is a non-business day, in which case the record date will be the preceding business day) of the calendar month preceding that Interest Payment Date (the "Record Date"), on the Bond Register (as defined in Section 7 hereof) at the address appearing therein. The final payment of principal of and interest on the Bonds shall be payable upon presentation and surrender of the Bonds at the office of the Bond Registrar. The Bonds shall bear interest from the later of the date thereof, or the most recent Interest Payment Date to which interest has been paid or duly provided for, unless the date of authentication of the Bonds is less than 15 days prior to an Interest Payment Date, in which case interest shall accrue from such Interest Payment Date.
Any interest on the Bonds which is payable, but is not punctually paid or provided for, on any Interest Payment Date (herein called "Defaulted Interest") shall forthwith cease to be payable to the registered owner on the relevant Record Date by virtue of having been such owner and such Defaulted Interest shall be paid to the registered owner in whose name the Bonds are registered at the close of business on a date (the "Special Record Date") to be fixed by the Bond Registrar, such Special Record Date to be not more than 15 nor less than 10 days prior to the date of proposed payment. The Bond Registrar shall cause notice of the proposed payment of such Defaulted Interest and the Special Record Date therefor to be mailed, first class postage prepaid, to each Bondholder, at his address as it appears in the Bond Register, not less than 10 days prior to such Special Record Date, and may, in its discretion, cause a similar notice to be published once in a newspaper in each place where Bonds are payable, but such publication shall not be a condition precedent to the establishment of such Special Record Date.
Subject to the foregoing provisions of this Section 6, each Bond delivered by the Bond Registrar upon transfer of or in exchange for or in lieu of any other Bond shall carry the rights to interest accrued and unpaid, and to accrue, which were carried by such other Bond.
Section 7. The Trustees of the Sinking Fund of the City of Columbus are appointed to act as the authenticating agent, bond registrar, transfer agent and paying agent (collectively, the "Bond Registrar") for the Bonds. So long as the Bonds remain outstanding, the Municipality will cause to be maintained and kept by the Bond Registrar, at the office of the Bond Registrar, all books and records necessary for the registration, exchange and transfer of Bonds as provided in this Section (the "Bond Register"). Subject to the provisions of Section 6 hereof, the person in whose name the Bonds shall be registered on the Bond Register shall be regarded as the absolute owner thereof for all purposes. Payment of or on account of the principal of and interest on the Bonds shall be made only to or upon the order of that person. Neither the Municipality nor the Bond Registrar shall be affected by any notice to the contrary, but the registration may be changed as herein provided. All payments shall be valid and effectual to satisfy and discharge the liability upon the Bonds, including the interest thereon, to the extent of the amount or amounts so paid.
The Bonds may be transferred only on the Bond Register upon presentation and surrender thereof at the principal office of the Bond Registrar, together with an assignment executed by the registered owner or by a person authorized by the owner to do so by a power of attorney in a form satisfactory to the Bond Registrar. Upon that transfer, the Bond Registrar shall complete, authenticate and deliver a new Bond equal in the aggregate to the unmatured principal amount of the Bonds surrendered, and bearing interest at the same rate and maturing on the same date.
The Municipality and the Bond Registrar shall not be required to transfer or exchange the Bonds for a period of fifteen days next preceding an Interest Payment Date or the date of maturity.
In all cases in which Bonds are transferred hereunder, the Municipality shall cause to be executed and the Bond Registrar shall authenticate and deliver Bonds in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance. The transfer shall be without charge to the owner; except that the Municipality and Bond Registrar may make a charge sufficient to reimburse them for any tax or other governmental charge required to be paid with respect to the transfer. The Municipality or the Bond Registrar may require that those charges, if any, be paid before it begins the procedure for transfer of the Bonds. All Bonds issued upon any transfer shall be the valid obligations of the Municipality, evidencing the same debt, and entitled to the same benefits under this Ordinance, as the Bonds surrendered upon that transfer.
Section 8. The Bonds shall be sold at private sale to the Trustees of the Sinking Fund of the City of Columbus, Ohio (the "Original Purchaser") at a price of 100% of the principal amount thereof plus accrued interest, if any.
The Director of Finance and Management, the City Auditor and the Clerk are authorized and directed to make the necessary arrangements on behalf of the Municipality to establish the date, location, procedure and conditions for the delivery of the Bonds to the Original Purchaser. Those officers are further directed to take all steps necessary to effect due execution, authentication and delivery of the Bonds under the terms of the Bond Ordinance.
The proceeds from the sale of the Bonds shall be deposited in the City Treasury and shall be credited to the proper Bond Retirement Fund to be applied to the payment of the principal of and interest on the Outstanding Notes at their maturity on July 16, 2009.
Any accrued interest or premium received from such sale shall be deposited in the City Treasury and shall be credited to the proper Bond Retirement Fund to be applied to the payment of the principal and interest of the Bonds in the manner provided by law. All moneys necessary to carry out the purposes of this Ordinance are hereby deemed appropriated for expenditure by the City Auditor.
To provide for the payment of the costs for prevailing wage expenses that was not included in the Levy of Assessment, the City Auditor is hereby authorized to expend from the Electricity Operating Fund (Fund 550) a sum not to exceed Ten Dollars ($10.00), and such amount is hereby deemed appropriated.
Section 9. It is hereby found and determined that all formal actions of this Council concerning and relating to the adoption of this Ordinance were adopted in an open meeting of this Council, and that all deliberations of this Council and of any of its committees that resulted in such formal action, were in meetings open to the public, in compliance with all legal requirements including Section 121.22 of the Ohio Revised Code.
Section 10. The City Clerk is hereby directed to forward certified copies of this Ordinance to the County Auditors of Franklin, Fairfield and Delaware Counties, Ohio.
Section 11. In accordance with Section 55(b) of the Charter of the City of Columbus, Ohio, this Ordinance shall take effect and be in force from and immediately after its passage and approval by the Mayor, or ten days after passage if the Mayor neither approves nor vetoes the same.