Section 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
                                                   -----
                                            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.