§1728. Withdrawal of member municipalities

Withdrawal of a member municipality may take place at any time prior to the commitment by the district, or any member municipality on behalf of the district, to issue any instrument of indebtedness, including, but not limited to, bonds and notes with a maturity of one year or more. The date upon which a district or member municipality is committed to issue the debt shall be established by a majority vote of the board of directors, at least 90 days in advance of that date. At the time of withdrawal, the withdrawing municipality shall remain liable for its proportionate share of district debts and operating expenses incurred prior to the date of withdrawal, and shall make provisions satisfactory to the board of directors to pay its share of the debt outstanding at the time of withdrawal.   [PL 1983, c. 820, §2 (NEW).]

After issuance of instruments of indebtedness with a maturity of one year or more, no member municipality may withdraw from the district while the indebtedness remains outstanding without the approval of a simple majority vote of the board of directors of the district. A withdrawing municipality shall make provisions satisfactory to the board of directors to pay its share of debt outstanding at the time of withdrawal.   [PL 1983, c. 820, §2 (NEW).]

In considering the request of a municipality to withdraw, the board of directors shall consider the effect of the proposed withdrawal on the ability of the district to continue operating its waste facility in a manner and at a cost to the remaining member municipalities which is reasonable in comparison with costs experienced by the member municipalities over the most recent 3 fiscal years. The board of directors shall consider the effect on tipping fees and other costs, as well as the effect on revenue from the sale of power caused by the loss of the amount of waste contributed by the withdrawing municipality.   [PL 1983, c. 820, §2 (NEW).]

If the withdrawal causes the costs of the other member municipalities to increase by reducing the efficiency of the waste facility, the withdrawing municipality may be required by the board of directors as a condition of withdrawal either to secure an alternate and equivalent source of waste for the district, both in quality and quantity, or to execute an agreement to make payments to the district for a period of 5 years following withdrawal, which will cause the cost of the other member municipalities to remain constant over that period, when adjusted annually for the effect of all other factors on such costs.   [PL 1983, c. 820, §2 (NEW).]

Subject to any required approval by the board of directors of the district, withdrawal by a municipality may be accomplished by a vote of the inhabitants of the municipality, or by determination of the municipal officers, in the same manner as the decision to join in the formation of the district under section 1721. The town meeting or city election, as the case may be, to consider withdrawal shall be called by the municipal officers upon receipt of a petition of 10% of the number of voters in the municipality who voted in the last gubernatorial election. The question to be voted upon shall be in substantially the following form:

To see if the town (or city) of (name of town or city) will vote to withdraw from (name of disposal district).

[PL 1983, c. 820, §2 (NEW).]

The number of votes required for passage shall be 2/3 of those voting.   [PL 1983, c. 820, §2 (NEW).]

SECTION HISTORY

PL 1983, c. 820, §2 (NEW).