§45-27A-60. Town of Pollard Trust Account.

(a)(1) There is hereby established a trust account for the Town of Pollard, Alabama, for the exclusive benefit of the Town of Pollard and its citizens. The name of the trust fund shall be the Town of Pollard Trust Account.

(2) In order to preserve for future generations the Town of Pollard Trust Account and to ensure water service, garbage pickup, grass mowing, and general maintenance of public property, expenditures from the income of the trust are authorized only for the following uses:

a. Maintenance and replacement of water system equipment and property.

b. The payment of utility charges incurred by the town.

c. Purchase and maintenance of insurance for the water system, other town property, and bonding fees required by law for the mayor, the town clerk, and any other person authorized to sign checks for the Town of Pollard.

d. Repair and replacement of town equipment.

e. Employment of two permanent employees to perform garbage pick-up, grass mowing, cleaning, and general maintenance of town properties, other maintenance functions related to streets and drainage ditches, and for the purchase of necessary material for these purposes. One of these two employees shall perform the duties of water system operator. A temporary certified water system operator may be hired until one of the two permanent employees is duly certified as a water operator.

f. The employment of one custodian to clean the town hall.

g. The employment of one secretary for the mayor whose employment shall be limited to 20 hours per week and whose salary shall be limited to five dollars fifty cents ($5.50) per hour or the prevailing minimum wage, whichever is greater.

h. The payment of either the salary, or meeting expenses paid in lieu of salary, but not both, of the Mayor of Pollard.

i. The payment of meeting expense allowances only of members of the Town of Pollard Council.

j. The payment of all annual membership fees in the Alabama League of Municipalities for the town officials who are members of the league.

k. To periodically contribute funds to help support local volunteer fire departments.

(3) No other expenditure shall be made from the trust account earnings.

(4) Except for the temporary position and the four permanent positions authorized in subdivision (2), no trust fund income may be expended for the hiring of employees or personnel for the Town of Pollard.

(5) Thirty days after May 29, 1997, the earnings from the trust fund shall be maintained in an account separate from other funds of the town.

(6) The Department of Examiners of Public Accounts of the State of Alabama shall audit, review, and otherwise investigate the receipts and disbursements of the trust account in the same manner that the duties are performed for examination and audits of agencies and departments of the State of Alabama. An examination or audit shall be open to public inspection.

(b) The trust account shall be administered by a board of trustees. The trustees of the account shall be the Mayor and the members of the Town Council of Pollard, Alabama, and their successors in office, and two citizens of Pollard jointly appointed by the mayor and the town council. The two citizen members shall serve terms of office of six years each and each shall be eligible for reappointment. The board of trustees may also appoint an escrow agent for the trust, which shall be a trust company or national or state bank having the powers of a trust company within or without the State of Alabama, to serve as a trustee.

(c)(1) The town council may, by unanimous vote of its entire membership, adopt a resolution requesting the legislative delegation representing Pollard to enact a local bill calling for a referendum on the question of terminating the trust account. The trust account shall continue to exist until four-fifths of the electors voting at such an election vote to terminate the trust.

(2) Any election called for pursuant to the procedure provided in subdivi¬sion (1) shall be held on the same day as the next municipal or general election. Notice of the election shall be given by the town clerk and shall be published once a week for four successive weeks before the day of the election. On the ballots to be used at the election, the proposition to be voted on shall be stated substantially as follows:

"Do you favor termination of the Town of Pollard Trust Account?

Yes ______ No ______."

(3) If the required number of electors vote to terminate the trust account, all proceeds of the account shall be paid into the general fund of the town.

(d)(1) The initial corpus of the trust account shall consist of two certificates of deposit issued by the First Progressive Bank, Brewton, Alabama; Certificate Number 0679; and Certificate Number 5202.

(2) With respect to Certificate 0679, the certificate shall be transferred to the trust account upon May 7, 1992. The trustees shall keep Certificate 0679 until its maturity, unless the rate of interest becomes uncompetitive. If the rate of interest on Certificate 0679 becomes uncompetitive, the trustees may negotiate or liquidate the certificate and reinvest the proceeds as provided in subdivision (5).

(3) With respect to Certificate 5202, the certificate shall be transferred to the trust account upon May 7, 1992. Upon the maturity of Certificate 5202 in 1993, one million dollars ($1,000,000) of the proceeds shall be kept in the trust account for reinvestment, and the remainder of the proceeds shall be distributed to the General Fund of the Town of Pollard.

(4) The interest or earnings of the trust shall be distributed quarterly, semi-annually, or annually as designated by the trustees to the General Fund of Pollard, Alabama, or may be reinvested by the trustees at their discretion, pursuant to the limitations of subdivision (1). Any income reinvested into the trust account, or any other funds appropriated to, granted to, or deposited into the trust account, shall become a part of the trust account and subject to all other provisions of the trust account.

(5) The trustees shall reinvest the corpus of the trust account either directly or indirectly in securities otherwise eligible for the Security for Alabama Funds Enhancement (SAFE) program, as defined in Section 41-14-35. Provided, however, that notwithstanding any legal limitation that might otherwise be applicable, the trustees may invest the trust fund in certificates of deposit of any savings and loan association or bank whether federally or state chartered whose principal office is located in the state, provided that the funds invested are fully secured by the pledge of eligible SAFE program securities, as defined in Section 41-14-35, from the issuing bank.

(Act 92-389, p. 798, §§1-4; Act 97-656, p. 1243, §1; Act 2003-434, 2nd Sp. Sess., p. 1246, §1.)