ARTICLE 1. - DIVISION OF WARWICK AND WEST WARWICK

Sec. 1. - Towns divided.#

The Town of Warwick is hereby divided into two (2) towns. All the territory constituting representative districts one and two of the present town shall constitute the Town of Warwick and shall constitute representative districts one and two of the Town of Warwick after the passage of this act. All the territory constituting representative districts three, four and five of the present town shall constitute the Town of West Warwick and shall constitute representative districts one, two and three, respectively, of the Town of West Warwick after the passage of this act. Both of said towns shall be a part of the Second Congressional District.

(Laws 1913, ch. 1012, § 1)

Sec. 2. - General corporate nature, statutory powers, etc.#

The inhabitants of each of said towns shall be a body corporate, and each body corporate shall exercise and enjoy, all the rights, powers, privileges, and franchises granted, and shall be subject to the liabilities imposed upon towns by the constitution and General Laws of this state now and hereafter in force.

(Laws 1913, ch. 1012, § 2)

Sec. 3. - Representation in general assembly.#

From the Town of Warwick, there shall be elected one senator and two (2) representatives; that is, one representative shall be elected by each of the representative districts in said town. From the Town of West Warwick, there shall be elected one senator and three (3) representatives; that is, one representative shall be elected by each of the representative districts in said town.

For the purpose of filling the vacancies created by this act, the present representatives from the first and second districts of the present Town of Warwick shall serve as representatives of the first and second districts, respectively, of the Town of Warwick, and the present representatives from the third, fourth and fifth districts of the present Town of Warwick shall serve as representatives of the first, second and third districts, respectively, of the Town of West Warwick; and the present senator from the present Town of Warwick shall serve as senator from the Town of Warwick; said representatives and senator to serve until their terms as representatives and senator from, the present Town of Warwick would have expired if said town had not been divided. The electors of the Town of West Warwick shall on the first Tuesday following the first Monday of November 1913, elect a senator who shall serve for one year and until his successor is elected and qualified. After said terms shall have expired the electors of each of said towns shall elect their senator and representatives as is prescribed by the constitution and General Laws of the State of Rhode Island.

(Laws 1913, ch. 1012, § 3)

State Law reference— Senatorial districts described, G.L. 1956, § 22-1-2; representative districts described, G.L. 1956, § 22-2-2.

Sec. 4. - When district court sits.#

The district court of the fourth judicial district shall meet in Warwick each Tuesday and in West Warwick each Friday, at some regular hour to be fixed by the court, and such days shall be return days for civil writs issued from this court; but said court shall not sit on legal holidays for the transaction of civil business.

(Laws 1913, ch. 1012, § 4)

State Law reference— Sessions of district court, G.L. 1956, § 8-8-13.

Sec. 5. - Drawing of grand and petit jurors.#

There shall be drawn by the town council of the town of West Warwick, at the time and in the manner prescribed by the General Laws, for the drawing of jurors, twenty-two grand jurors and forty-three petit jurors for service in the superior court for the county of Kent, and there shall be drawn by the town council of the town of Warwick at the time and in the manner prescribed by the General Laws for the drawing of jurors fourteen grand jurors and thirty petit jurors for service in the superior court for the county of Kent.

(Laws 1913, ch. 1012, § 5)

State Law reference— Drawing of jurors and the number thereof, G.L. 1956, §§ 9-9-16, 9-9-20.

Sec. 6. - Boards of police commissioners.#

There shall be a board of police commissioners for the town of Warwick, consisting of three members, all of whom shall be qualified electors of said town, and there shall be a board of police commissioners for the town of West Warwick, consisting of three members, all of whom shall be qualified electors of said town. The members of each of said boards shall be elected by the electors of their respective towns at the first town election to be holden in each of said towns after this act takes effect. Of the three commissioners chosen on each of said boards, one shall serve for one year, one for two years and one for three years from the date of their election, and thereafter there shall be elected at each annual election for town officers in each of said towns one member of the police commission for said town to serve for three years. Each of said boards of police commissioners shall in their respective towns have all the privileges and powers that are conferred upon the board of police commissioners of the present town of Warwick by virtue of Chapter 695 of the Public Laws of Rhode Island, approved May 5, 1911. The annual salary of each member of each of said boards shall be three hundred dollars, and each board is hereby authorized to elect a clerk and to determine the salary of the same. The records of each of said boards shall at all times be open to the inspection of the governor, or to such person or persons whom he may designate in writing. The clerks of each of said boards of police commissioners shall give a bond in the sum of five thousand dollars to their respective towns with surety or sureties satisfactory to the town treasurer thereof, but the members of said boards shall not be required to give bond. The board of police commissioners of the present town of Warwick shall when this act becomes operative deliver to the police commissioners of the respective towns such records, documents, and papers relative to the granting of licenses of every description, and of all other matters within the jurisdiction of said board that may pertain to each of said respective towns.

(Laws 1913, ch. 1012, § 6)

Editor's note— The board of police commissioners of West Warwick has been abolished and its functions transferred to the town council by Laws 1923, ch. 2420, appearing as art. 3 hereof.

Sec. 7. - Custody of records, copies.#

All books of record, plats, and assessors' plats of the present town of Warwick shall become the property of the town of Warwick, but the inhabitants of West Warwick shall have the same rights of access to said records and plats as the inhabitants of the town of Warwick. And the Warwick Division Commission, hereinafter created, shall forthwith cause to be made copies of all such records and plats as said commission may deem necessary for the use of said town of West Warwick. The cost of making such copies shall be borne and paid equally by the towns of Warwick and West Warwick. Said copies when so made shall become and be the property of the town of West Warwick.

(Laws 1913, ch. 1012, § 7)

Sec. 8. - Elective officers specified; terms.#

On the first Tuesday following the first Monday of November 1913, and annually thereafter, the electors of each of said towns shall elect a town council of five members, town clerk, town treasurer, a school committee of five members, a board of tax assessors of three members, and such other town officers as may be provided for by the General Laws, and which are not in conflict with the provisions of this act relating to the establishment of a police commission.

Of the board of tax assessors so chosen in 1913, by each of said towns, one member shall serve for one year, one for two years, and one for three years; and thereafter at each annual election for town officers in each of said towns, there shall be elected one assessor of taxes to serve for three years.

(Laws 1913, ch. 1012, § 8)

Sec. 9. - Election of probate judge.#

The town council of each of said towns may elect a probate judge in accordance with Chapter 306, Section 3 of the General Laws.

(Laws 1913, ch. 1012, § 9)

Editor's note— G.L. 1909, ch. 306, § 3 appears as G.L. 1956, §§ 8-9-4, 8-9-5.

Sec. 10. - Jurisdiction of pending proceedings.#

All proceedings commenced or pending prior to the time when this act shall take effect before the court of probate in the present town of Warwick, over which the court of probate of the town of West Warwick would acquire jurisdiction, shall remain within the jurisdiction of the court of probate of the town of Warwick until their final termination.

(Laws 1913, ch. 1012, § 10)

Sec. 11. - Continuation of officers; transitional registration of voters.#

The town officers now in office in the present town of Warwick shall hold office until the officers of the respective towns of Warwick and West Warwick shall have been elected as provided for in this act, and shall have qualified for their respective offices, and said town officers shall continue to perform for both of said towns all of the duties now imposed by law upon them, until such new officers are elected and qualified. And the moderators of the present voting districts and other election officials shall continue to serve until after the elections herein provided for both of said towns until their successors are elected and qualified. All persons who if registered would be qualified to vote in the present town of Warwick at the annual election to be holden on the fourth day of November 1913, if this act had not been passed, may register with the town clerk of the present town of Warwick in the same manner as may be required by law, and such registration shall be good within and for both of the towns created under this act to all intents and purposes as it would have been in the town of Warwick had said town not been divided by this act.

(Laws 1913, ch. 1012, § 11)

Sec. 12. - Caucuses.#

The respective town committees of all qualified political parties in the present town of Warwick shall issue calls for caucuses for their respective political parties in the two towns created hereunder in such manner as said town committees may determine to nominate candidates for senators and representatives in the general assembly, town and district officers, members of town and other committees, and transact such other business as said town committee may direct to be transacted.

(Laws 1913, ch. 1012, § 12)

State Law reference— Caucuses replaced by primaries, G.L. 1956, § 17-15-6.

Sec. 13. - Financial town meeting, fiscal year.#

The electors of the town of Warwick qualified to vote on any proposition to impose a tax or for the expenditure of money in said town shall on the Tuesday following the third Monday in November, in the year 1920, and thereafter annually on the second Tuesday in May, assemble in town meeting at the town hall in said town, at two o'clock in the afternoon, for the purpose of hearing official reports, ordering a tax or taxes, making appropriations and transacting any other business appertaining to the financial affairs of said town. The fiscal year of the town of Warwick shall include the twelve calendar months from May to April both inclusive.

The electors of the town of West Warwick qualified to vote on any proposition to impose a tax or for the expenditure of money in said town, shall annually on the Tuesday following the third Monday in May, assemble in town meeting at a place in said town designated by the town council of West Warwick, at two o'clock in the afternoon, for the purpose of hearing official reports, ordering a tax or taxes, making appropriations and transacting any other business appertaining to the financial affairs of said town. The fiscal year of the town of West Warwick shall include the twelve calendar months from May to April both inclusive.

Said town meeting in each of said towns shall be warned and called as provided by law with respect to town meetings prescribed by law. The list of electors qualified to vote at such town meetings in each of said towns, shall be made out and canvassed in the same manner as provided by law with respect to elective town meetings.

(Laws 1913, ch. 1012, § 13; Laws 1915, ch. 1326, § 1; Laws 1920, ch. 2004, § 1; Laws 1921, ch. 2149, § 1)

Editor's note— Laws 1952, ch. 2892, § 1, included herein as art. 12, provides that the financial town meeting be held annually on the Tuesday following the third Monday in March at 7:00 in the evening.

State Law reference— Notice of meetings, G.L. 1956, § 45-3-5; canvas of electors, G.L. 1956, § 17-10.1 et seq.

Sec. 14. - Apportionment of debts, liabilities.#

All debts and liquidated liabilities of the present town of Warwick shall be and remain valid and binding. The Warwick Division Commission, hereinafter created, shall apportion the payment of said debts and liquidated liabilities between the towns of Warwick and West Warwick in proportion to the ratable property in said towns, according to the assessment of taxes last made in the present town of Warwick. Such apportionment shall not bar the holder of such debt or liability against the present town of Warwick from recovering as fully as said holder might have recovered against the present town but shall be made only for the purpose of determining which town shall be primarily liable for each debt and for establishing a right of recoupment between said towns if [of] the town primarily liable to pay any obligation apportioned to it. All actions in law and equity now pending against the present town of Warwick may be prosecuted to final judgment without the substitution of any new defendant, but execution shall issue against the town treasurers of both the town of Warwick and West Warwick and the amount under said execution shall be paid by the two towns in the same proportions as present indebtedness is apportioned by the Warwick Division Commission. Causes of action against the present town of Warwick in which no suit has yet been brought and in which the statute of limitations has not expired, if brought, shall be brought in the manner prescribed in Chapter 46 of the General Laws of 1909, but against both the towns of Warwick and West Warwick, and in the event of the execution against said towns, said towns shall pay the judgment secured in the same proportions as present indebtedness is apportioned by the Warwick Division Commission.

(Laws 1913, ch. 1012, § 14)

Editor's note— Chapter 46, G.L. 1909, is distributed throughout G.L. 1956, tits. 29 and 45.

Sec. 15. - Maintenance of division highways.#

Of the highways forming portions of the division line between said towns, those roads known as "Quaker Avenue," and "Rocky Hill Road," extending from the East Greenwich line at Barton's corner northerly to the Centreville road, (sometimes called Warwick avenue), shall be maintained and kept in repair by the town of Warwick, and the remainder of such division highways shall be maintained and kept in repair by the town of West Warwick, and all claims brought for damages by reason of any defect in said highways, in accordance with Chapter 46 of the General Laws [G.L. 1956, ch. 46], shall be brought accordingly.

(Laws 1913, ch. 1012, § 15)

Editor's note— Chapter 46, G.L. 1909, is distributed throughout G.L. 1956, tits. 29 and 45.

Sec. 16. - Division commission created.#

There shall be appointed by the governor of the State of Rhode Island a commission of five competent persons, two of whom shall be residents of the town of Warwick created by this act, and two of whom shall be residents of the town of West Warwick, and one of whom shall be a resident of some city or town in Rhode Island other than Warwick or West Warwick, which commission shall be known as the Warwick Division Commission, and which commission shall perform the duties imposed upon it by the provisions of this act, and which is hereby authorized, empowered and directed to do and perform each and every act, necessary and essential to the complete division of the town of Warwick and not otherwise specifically devolved upon any official or person, and the acts of said commission in carrying out the provisions of this act shall be final.

(Laws 1913, ch. 1012, § 16)

Sec. 17. - Duties of division commission.#

The Warwick Division Commission, as provided for in the preceding section of this act, is hereby authorized and directed to apportion the valuation of the town of Warwick and the valuation of the town of West Warwick, as a basis for the state tax, according to the proportionate part of taxable property situate and within said towns; and the amount so found by them, or by any three of them agreeing, shall be the basis of said state tax for the said towns of Warwick and West Warwick. Said commission shall report the result of their action to the town clerk of Warwick and to the town clerk of West Warwick, when elected and qualified, to the secretary of state and to the general treasurer of the State of Rhode Island. The expenses and compensation of said commission shall be borne equally by said towns of Warwick and West Warwick.

(Laws 1913, ch. 1012, § 17)

Sec. 18. - Repealer; when act effective.#

All acts and parts of acts, whether of General Laws or special statutory enactments, inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed, and this act shall take effect and be in force upon its approval by the governor of the State of Rhode Island.

(Laws 1913, ch. 1012, § 18)

Sec. 19. - Expenditures for schools in Warwick.#

In addition to the powers now vested in school committees by the provisions of the General Laws, the school committee of the town of Warwick is hereby vested with the exclusive power and authority to expend all appropriations for school purposes made at any financial town meeting held in said town: Provided, however, that nothing herein shall be so construed as to vest in said committee the expenditure of any special appropriation for the erection of new school buildings or the purchase of sites therefor.

(Laws 1913, ch. 1012, § 19; Laws 1915, ch. 1326)

Sec. 20. - Appointment, removal of policemen in Warwick.#

In addition to the powers conferred upon the police commission of the town of Warwick by section 6 of this act, except as hereinafter provided, said police commission may appoint at any regular meeting after the passage of this act so many and such police officers, including the chief of police, a deputy chief of police, captain, lieutenant, and one or more sergeants of police, for service in said town as by rule or otherwise said commission may from time to time determine, which said officers shall hold their respective offices until vacated by death or resignation, except as hereinafter provided; and the chairman of said commission may at any time suspend any such officer or officers from his or their office or offices until the next regular meeting of said commission, at which meeting he shall report any and all such suspensions, with his reasons therefor, and the said commission may continue such suspension or suspensions until the next regular meeting following: Provided, however, that any one or more of the police officers so appointed, including the chief of police, deputy chief of police, captain, lieutenant, and sergeant or sergeants of police, shall be subject to removal from office by said commission, at any regular meeting thereof, for misconduct, or incapacity of such character as the said commission may deem a disqualification for said office; and all such removals shall be by the said commission upon charges made in writing, if requested by such officer or officers, and of which the officer or officers complained of shall have notice and opportunity at the time to be heard thereon; provided further however, that nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to any police officer or constable other than the members of the regular paid police department of said town of Warwick.

(Laws 1913, ch. 1012, § 20; Laws 1921, ch. 2148, § 1)

Sec. 21. - Term of office of present policemen in Warwick.#

Upon the appointment and qualification of said police officers in the town of Warwick in accordance with the provisions of this act, the term of office of the officers composing the existing police force in that town shall terminate.

(Laws 1913, ch. 1012, § 21; Laws 1921, ch. 2148, § 1)

Sec. 22. - Effect on old Warwick police commission act.#

So much of the provisions of section 7 and 8 of chapter 695 of the public laws, passed at the January session, A. D. 1911, entitled "An act providing for a board of police commissioners for the town of Warwick," as are inconsistent with the provisions of this act, are hereby repealed; provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to affect the powers of the police commission of the town of West Warwick as defined in said chapter 695 and in section 6 of this act.

(Laws 1913, ch. 1012, § 22; Laws 1921, ch. 2148, § 1)

Editor's note— The West Warwick police commission was abolished and its functions transferred to the town council by Laws 1923, ch. 2420, compiled herein as art. 3.

Sec. 23. - Sinking land commission created.#

Howard V. Allen, town treasurer of the town of Warwick, Frank P. Duffy, town treasurer of the town of West Warwick, Arthur B. Harrington, president of the town council of the town of Warwick, and Donat Archambault, president of the town council of the town of West Warwick, and their respective successors in said offices, are hereby created and shall constitute a board of sinking fund commissioners of the sinking fund authorized to be established by the town of Warwick under the power granted by chapter 942 of the general laws passed at the November session of the general assembly, A. D. 1901, entitled "An act authorizing the town of Warwick to issue bonds and to establish a sinking fund for the redemption thereof."

(Laws 1913, ch. 1012, § 23; Laws 1925, ch. 745, § 1)

Sec. 24. - Contributions to sinking fund; compensation.#

Said towns of Warwick and West Warwick shall annually hereafter from the revenues of said towns, contribute to said sinking fund and pay to the board of sinking fund commissioners for the redemption of said bonds, the following amounts, until said sinking fund with its accumulations shall be sufficient for the redemption at maturity of the bonds for which said sinking fund was established, viz: the town of Warwick four thousand three hundred ninety dollars, and the town of West Warwick, two thousand seven hundred dollars.

(Laws 1913, ch. 1012, § 24; Laws 1925, ch. 745, § 1)

Sec. 25. - Powers, duties of sinking fund commissioners.#

Said board of sinking fund commissioners shall take possession of, sue for, and recover from any person or corporation, said sinking fund, or any part thereof in the possession of such person or corporation, shall have charge and control of said sinking fund, shall invest and reinvest in the name of the board all amounts so recovered or taken possession of and all other amounts contributed thereto and the income and accumulations thereof, as it accrues, in the bonds of towns and cities secured by sinking funds, or certificates of said towns issued in anticipation of taxes, or any securities, except personal securities, in which funds of savings banks of Rhode Island, Massachusetts or New York may by law be invested, and the commissioners may sell and reinvest such securities. They shall keep a record of their proceedings and shall annually make a written report to the financial town meetings of said towns of Warwick and West Warwick of the amount and condition of said bonds and the income thereof for the preceding financial year and said records shall be open to the inspection of the town councils of said towns or to any committee authorized by the respective town councils for that purpose. No member of the board shall receive compensation for his services, but the necessary expenses of the board shall be paid by said towns.

(Laws 1913, ch. 1012, § 25; Laws 1925, ch. 745, § 1)