The board may incur an indebtedness and issue bonds therefor in an amount or amounts not to exceed in the aggregate $20,000,000 for the purpose of erecting, purchasing, or otherwise acquiring buildings suitable for community college use, transferring funds to the Capital Development Board for community college building purposes, erecting temporary community college structures, erecting additions to, repairing, rehabilitating, and replacing existing community college buildings and temporary community college structures, furnishing and equipping community college buildings and temporary community college structures, and purchasing or otherwise acquiring and improving sites for such purposes. The bonds may be issued without submitting the question of issuance thereof to the voters of the community college district for approval.
     Whenever the board desires to issue bonds as herein authorized, it shall adopt a resolution designating the purpose for which the proceeds of the bonds are to be expended and fixing the amount of the bonds proposed to be issued, the schedule of the maturities thereof, and optional provisions, if any, and the maximum rate of interest thereon and directing the sale upon such terms as are determined by the board.
     The secretary of the board shall cause such sale to be advertised by publication of a notice of sale once, as a legal notice in a newspaper having general circulation in the district, and once in a financial journal published in the City of New York, New York, or Chicago, Illinois. Such notice of sale shall be published not less than 7 nor more than 21 days prior to the date set for the sale of the bonds being advertised. The notice of sale shall state that sealed bids will be received by the board for its bonds and shall include: the amount, date, maturity or maturities of such bonds; the date, time and place of receipt of bids; the maximum permissible interest rate; the basis upon which the bonds will be awarded; call provisions, if any; and such other information as the board may deem pertinent.
     After the bonds have been awarded to the successful bidder, the board shall adopt a resolution confirming the sale of the bonds to the successful bidder setting forth the terms of sale, designating the place of payment for the principal and interest, prescribing the form of bond and determining the amount of taxes to be levied annually for each of the years in which said bonds are outstanding for the purpose of paying the interest on and the principal of such bonds.
     The bonds shall be issued in the corporate name of the community college district, and shall be signed by such officers of the district as may be designated in the bond resolution. The bonds shall bear interest at a rate of not more than the maximum rate authorized by the Bond Authorization Act, as amended at the time of the making of the contract, and shall mature not more than 20 years from the date of issuance, and may be made callable on any interest payment date at par and accrued interest, after notice has been given, at the time and in the manner provided in the bond resolution. The proceeds of sale of said bonds shall be received by the community college treasurer, and expended by the board for the purpose provided in the bond resolution.
     The community college treasurer shall, before receiving any of such money, execute a surety bond with a surety company authorized to do business in this State conditioned upon the faithful discharge of his duties. That surety bond must be approved by the community college board and, upon such approval, shall be filed as otherwise required under this Act for the treasurer’s bond. The penalty of the surety bond shall be in the amount of such bond issue. The surety bond shall be in substantially the same form as the bond otherwise required under this Act for the treasurer and when so given shall fully describe the bond issue which it specifically covers and shall remain in force until the funds of the bond issue are fully disbursed in accordance with law.
     Before or at the time of issuing any bonds herein authorized, the board shall by resolution provide for the levy and collection of a direct annual tax upon all the taxable property within the community college district sufficient to pay and discharge the principal thereof at maturity and to pay the interest thereon as it falls due. Such tax shall be levied and collected in like manner with the other taxes of the community college district and shall be in addition to and exclusive of the maximum of all other taxes that the board is authorized by law to levy for community college purposes. Upon the filing of a certified copy of any such ordinance in the office of the county clerk of each county wherein such community college district is located, the county clerk shall extend the tax therein provided for, including an amount to cover loss and cost of collecting such taxes and also deferred collections thereof and abatements in the amounts of such taxes as extended upon the collector’s books.
     With respect to instruments for the payment of money issued under this Section either before, on, or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1989, it is and always has been the intention of the General Assembly (i) that the Omnibus Bond Acts are and always have been supplementary grants of power to issue instruments in accordance with the Omnibus Bond Acts, regardless of any provision of this Act that may appear to be or to have been more restrictive than those Acts, (ii) that the provisions of this Section are not a limitation on the supplementary authority granted by the Omnibus Bond Acts, and (iii) that instruments issued under this Section within the supplementary authority granted by the Omnibus Bond Acts are not invalid because of any provision of this Act that may appear to be or to have been more restrictive than those Acts.