Title 45, Title 45 and Cities

Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or public law to the contrary, the city of Woonsocket or any agency of the city may charge interest on delinquent payments for sewer assessment or sewer service charges at a rate not exceeding eighteen percent (18%) per annum.

The town of Coventry is hereby authorized to provide for the payment of sewer assessments in installment payments. The sewer assessments levied by the town of Coventry may be paid in as many as thirty (30) annual installments in accordance with the terms of the loan secured for s…

The inhabitants of every town shall continue to be a body corporate, and may, in their corporate name, sue and be sued, prosecute and defend, in any court and elsewhere.

The notice required by § 45-15-9 shall be in writing, signed by the person injured or damaged, or by someone on the person’s behalf, and shall be presented to the town council of the town or to the city council of the city; but if from physical or mental incapacity, it is impossi…

No work done by any city or town, upon any way or street, in mending or repairing the way or street, shall constitute or be any evidence of an acceptance of the way or street by the city or town, nor shall it in any way change the status of the way or street; and the mending or r…

(a) No person shall recover from any town in any action mentioned in §§ 45-15-8 and 45-15-9, a greater sum for personal injuries than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000). (b) This section shall be given retroactive effect and apply to all causes of action arising on or after …

Whenever any property of the value of fifty dollars ($50.00) or more is destroyed or injured to that amount by any persons to the number of six (6) or more unlawfully, routously, riotously, or tumultuously assembled, the town or city within which the property was situated is liab…

Any town or city which pays any sum under the provisions of § 45-15-13, may recover that sum against any or all of the persons who have destroyed or injured the property.

All claims arising under the provisions of §§ 45-15-13 and 45-15-14 shall proceed as provided in § 45-15-5.

All town or city council or any fire district shall, by ordinance or otherwise, indemnify any and all police officers, firefighters, elected or appointed fire district officials, public employees, fire district employees, officials, members of boards, agencies and commissions app…

In any case where an appeal is allowed from the decision of any board or commission of any city or town, it is sufficient to name the board or commission itself as a party respondent or as a defendant without the necessity of naming individual members of the board or commission a…

Every civil action brought by a town shall be brought in the name of the town unless otherwise directed specially by law.

Officers elected by a town to prosecute for violations of the town’s ordinances, bylaws, and regulations are not required to give surety for costs upon complaints made by them, but the town is directly liable to the state for costs incurred in the prosecution.

The director of public welfare of any town or city, or any officer in any town or city, performing the duties of the director of public welfare, may prosecute any person violating the provisions of any law, when given authority by law or ordinance to so prosecute. Whenever any pr…

Every person who has any money due him or her from any town or city, or any claim or demand against any town or city, for any matter, cause, or thing whatsoever, shall take the following method to obtain what is due: The person shall present to the town council of the town, or to…

On judgment being obtained for a debt, damages, or demand, in case the treasurer does not have sufficient money of the town or city in his or her hands to satisfy and pay the judgment obtained and the charges expended in defending the suit, the treasurer shall make application to…

In case the electors, or the city council, upon due warning given them, shall not take due and effectual care to reimburse, pay, or satisfy the treasurer the money, costs, and charges by the treasurer expended, or recovered against the treasurer, upon complaint filed with the sup…

If any person receives or suffers bodily injury or damage to that person’s property by reason of defect, want of repair, or insufficient railing, in or upon a public highway, causeway, or bridge, in any town which is by law obliged to repair and keep the same in a condition safe …

(a) A person so injured or damaged shall, within sixty (60) days, give to the town by law obliged to keep the highway, causeway, or bridge in repair, notice of the time, place, and cause of the injury or damage; and if the town does not make just and due satisfaction, within the …

Whoever is legally chosen to the office of town sergeant, and refuses to serve in that office, shall pay a fine of seven dollars ($7.00), to and for the use of the town, to be levied and collected, upon conviction, by warrant of distress issued by any justice of the peace of a to…

A special town constable shall also, at the request of any railroad company, or any proper officer or agent of these companies, and upon being paid the sum of thirty cents ($.30) for each hour of service required, attend at any regular steamboat wharf or landing, and any regular …

Whenever complaints, in writing, are made to the department of business regulation that any town sergeant, or town constable who has been certified in accordance with § 9-5-10.1, has been guilty of malfeasance, misfeasance, nonfeasance, or misconduct in serving or attempting to s…

(a) Any town sergeant or town constable who, being disqualified and debarred from serving or executing any writ or process returnable to any court of the state under the provisions of chapter 5 of title 9, shall serve or execute, or pretend or attempt to serve or execute, any wri…

Any town constable, except a constable elected by the electors of any town or city, may be removed for cause from office at any time by the town council or other body appointing him or her, after notice, in writing, to the town constable of the charges against him or her and an o…

Any individual who serves, or attempts to serve, any writ or legal process for any court of this state, other than deputy sheriffs, and those town sergeants and town constables so authorized for this service pursuant to this chapter, or in accordance with the provisions of chapte…

Every town sergeant shall, at the time of his or her being sworn into office, give bond with sufficient sureties to the town treasurer in the sum of one thousand dollars ($1,000), for the faithful performance of the duties of the town sergeant’s office.

Any person injured by the breach of the bond of any town sergeant, may commence an action in the name of the town treasurer of the town, for his or her own use, under like circumstances and in the same manner and subject to the same provisions as that person might do in the name …

Town sergeants shall serve and execute in any town of the county to which they belong, all writs, summons, and other processes to them directed and which by law may or ought to be served and executed by town sergeants, unless otherwise specially provided.

All town constables, except police and special constables as provided for in this chapter, shall be certified by the department of business regulation in order to serve civil process and execute writs as provided in §§ 9-5-10 and 9-5-10.1.

Any person injured by the breach of the bond of any town constable may commence an action for his or her own use, under like circumstances and in the same manner and subject to the same provisions as that person might do in the name of the general treasurer upon a bond given by t…

The department of business regulation, upon application being made by a town constable to serve civil process, may authorize the constable to serve or execute any process or writs issued by or returnable to any court in accordance with § 9-5-10.1. Upon being so authorized, the to…

No town constable, while serving or executing any process or writ issued by or returnable to the court, is liable in any civil action to respond in damages as a result of his or her acts of commission or omission arising directly out of his or her negligent serving or executing t…

Every town sergeant or town constable who neglects or refuses to serve any process issuing from lawful authority, directed to him or her to serve and execute, or who is guilty of neglect or misfeasance in executing the duties of his or her office (having in all civil cases, paid …

Every town sergeant and town constable, in the due execution of his or her office, may command all necessary aid and assistance in the execution of his or her office; and every person who, when so required, refuses or neglects to give aid and assistance, shall be fined not exceed…

The town councils of the several towns may elect any number of police officers for their towns, that they deem expedient, who are not required to give bond, nor be authorized to serve process in civil actions, but in all other matters they have the same power and authority as oth…

Every town council may elect for any amount of time, not exceeding one year, that they may determine, one or more special town constables who shall be commissioned and engaged but shall not be required to give bond.

A special town constable shall, upon the request of any citizen and upon being tendered the sum of thirty cents ($.30) for each hour of service required, attend any school or meeting lawfully assembled for the purpose of preventing any interruption or disturbance at the school or…

Any city or town may annually appropriate, in the manner provided by law for appropriations and expenditures by a city or town, a sum to be expended and paid to any volunteer fire company or companies or other organization or organizations created, for the purpose of and engaged …

Any volunteer fire company or organization may be required to present to the town or city council, whenever receiving any money or appropriated funds, a detailed statement of its assets and liabilities and an estimate of the probable current or operating expenses for a given peri…

Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to confer the power of appropriating funds for the purpose previously mentioned upon any city or town where specific authority for a similar purpose has been otherwise given by law.

(a)(1) Whenever any police officer of the Rhode Island airport corporation or whenever any police officer, firefighter, crash rescue crewperson, fire marshal, chief deputy fire marshal, or deputy fire marshal of any city, town, fire district, or the state of Rhode Island is wholl…

Where the injury or sickness for which compensation is payable under § 45-19-1, was caused under circumstances creating a legal liability in some person other than the employer to pay damages in respect of the injury or sickness, the employee may take proceedings, against that pe…

Any employer paying compensation under the provisions of § 45-19-1 shall, if the employee recovers damages from a third person on account of the injuries or sickness for which compensation is payable, have a lien upon that part going to the employee, of any recovery or sum had or…

No lien is effective, unless a written notice containing the name and address of the employee, the date that the employee became wholly or partially incapacitated, the name and location of the employer, and the name of the person or persons, firm or firms, corporation or corporat…

Any person or persons, firm or firms, corporation or corporations, making any payment to the employee or to the employee’s attorneys or heirs or legal representatives as compensation for the injury sustained, or sickness contracted after the filing and mailing of the notice, with…

Any person or persons, firm or firms, corporation or corporations, legally liable for a lien or against whom a claim is asserted for compensation for injuries, is permitted to examine the records of any employer paying compensation pursuant to the provisions of § 45-19-1.