(a)      (1)      The following legislative findings are made.

            (2)      As a result of the continuing increases in the cost of construction or rehabilitation, county taxes, heating and electricity expenses, maintenance and repair expenses, inflation, the cost of land, the cost of energy conservation measures, and the levels of borrowing costs, including interest, persons and families in many areas within Cecil County, including areas which contain presently stable neighborhoods and middle class residential housing, are unable to purchase, rehabilitate, and maintain decent, safe, and sanitary housing which provides an opportunity for home ownership either directly or through a condominium or cooperative form of ownership. The inability of families to purchase and hold housing in the county results in the decline of new housing and in the decay of existing housing and of existing neighborhoods with attendant increases in costs for welfare, police, and fire protection. The decline in new housing construction, together with the decay of existing housing, has produced a critical shortage of adequate housing in the county, adversely affecting the economy of the county and the well-being of its residents. Private enterprise without the assistance of the residential mortgage program contemplated by this section cannot achieve the construction or rehabilitation of adequate housing for persons and families of Cecil County. The alternative of forcing families to live in substandard housing is undesirable since it tends to decrease the interest of families in their communities, the maintenance of their property, and the preservation of their neighborhoods. The county has a basic public interest in providing a supplemental source of single-family residential mortgage funds at a cost lower to the borrower than otherwise prevailing for residential mortgages and a basic interest in stimulating a steady flow of funds for residential housing in order to assist in maintaining a well-balanced society, maintaining existing housing, preserving established neighborhoods, and maintaining a sound tax base.

            (3)      A large number of county residents have been and will be subject to hardship in finding decent, safe, and sanitary housing unless new facilities are constructed and existing housing, where appropriate, is rehabilitated. Unless the supply of housing and the ability of persons and families to obtain mortgage financing is increased significantly and expeditiously, a large number of residents of Cecil County may be compelled to live in unsanitary, overcrowded, or unsafe conditions to the detriment of the health, welfare, and well-being of these persons and of the whole community of which they are a part. By increasing the housing supply of the county and the ability of persons and families to obtain mortgage financing, the clearance, replanning, development and redevelopment of blighted areas will be aided, the critical shortage of adequate housing will be ameliorated, and the ability to preserve and utilize existing housing and neighborhoods will be greatly enhanced.

            (4)      A major cause of this housing crisis is the lack of funds at borrowing costs which are at a level whereby persons and families can afford to own and maintain decent, safe, and sanitary housing. An additional major cause of a housing crisis is the lack of funds available to finance housing by the private mortgage lending institutions of the State. This lack of funds has frustrated the maintenance, sale, and purchase of existing residences in Cecil County.

            (5)      The authority and powers conferred under this section and the expenditure of public moneys necessary and appropriate to carry out a residential mortgage program as contemplated in this section, constitute the serving of a valid public purpose. The enactment of this section is declared to be in the public interest.

      (b)      It is the declared legislative purpose to aid in remedying these conditions, and to promote the expansion of the supply of funds at lower borrowing costs than those otherwise prevailing for residential mortgages for persons and families, and thereby help alleviate the shortage of adequate housing and preserve existing housing and neighborhoods.

      (c)      In order better to accomplish the foregoing purposes, in addition to whatever other powers it may have and notwithstanding any limitation of law, Cecil County may borrow money by issuing revenue bonds, notes, or other evidences of obligation, in a total aggregate amount not to exceed $35,000,000, for the purpose of making funds available, either directly or through mortgage lending institutions, by forward commitment mortgage purchase, existing mortgage purchase, loans to lenders, revolving mortgage fund, or otherwise in any manner deemed appropriate by the county for residential mortgage loans to persons and families, and, in connection with any program, may collect from a borrower participating in the program participation charges deemed necessary or appropriate by the county to cover the loan processing, loan administration, mortgage insurance, and other costs and expenses of the program.

      (d)      An ordinance or resolution shall be adopted by the county specifying the proposed residential mortgage program, the amount of bonds to be issued, the rate or rates of interest the bonds are to bear, or the method of determining the rate or rates, and other provisions not inconsistent with this section as shall be determined by the county to be necessary or desirable to effect the financing of the mortgage loans.

      (e)      (1)      In the ordinance or resolution authorizing the issuance of bonds, the county shall make findings as to the need for financing permitted under this section, the types of housing available and needed in the county, and other factors as the county deems appropriate to establish a residential mortgage program. In any suit, action, or proceeding involving the validity or enforceability of any bond issued under this section or the security therefor, any finding by the county in regard to the qualification of a person or family to participate in the program, or other finding with respect to the program, shall be conclusive. A down payment of at least 10 percent of the purchase price of the dwelling shall be required by the program, and may be in the form of cash or real property owned by a mortgagor on which a dwelling has been constructed, which real property shall be valued at its purchase price or appraised value, whichever is less. An individual mortgage loan authorized under this program may not exceed $90,000.

            (2)      The bonds may be issued to bear interest, payable either annually, semiannually or otherwise, and may be executed, issued, and delivered at any time or from time to time, may be in a form and denomination, of a tenor, payable in amounts at times not exceeding 40 years from the date of issue, and at a place or places as the county determines.

            (3)      The bonds may be secured by a pledge of mortgages, or notes secured by deeds of trust, on any type of interest in real or other property, including the real property or other interests held by stock cooperatives and condominiums and their unit owners, servicing agreements, condemnation proceeds, proceeds of private mortgage insurance proceeds, casualty and special hazard insurance proceeds and any other security deemed appropriate by the county.

            (4)      The bonds may provide that they or any of them may be called for redemption, at the option of the county, prior to maturity at a price or prices and under the terms and conditions as may be fixed by the county before issuing the bonds.

            (5)      The principal amount of the bonds, the interest payable on them, their transfer, and any income derived from the bonds, including any profit made in the sale or transfer, shall be and remain exempt from taxation by the State of Maryland and by the several counties and municipalities of this State.

      (f)      (1)      Bonds issued pursuant to this section shall be negotiable and may be in coupon form or registrable as to principal alone or as to both principal and interest.

            (2)      The bonds shall be signed by the president of the Board of County Commissioners, and the seal of the county shall be affixed and attested to by the clerk or the officer exercising the functions of a clerk. If any officer whose signature or countersignature appears on the bonds or coupons ceases to be the officer before delivery of the bonds, his signature or countersignature shall nevertheless be valid and sufficient for all purposes the same as if he had remained in office until delivery.

            (3)      The bonds shall be sold in a manner, either at public or private sale, and upon the terms as the county deems best. Bonds issued under this section are not subject to the provisions of §§ 9, 10, and 11 of Article 31 of the Code.

            (4)      The bonds and the interest on them shall be limited obligations of the county. The principal and interest shall be payable solely from the revenue derived from interest, mortgage insurance, casualty or special hazard insurance or other insurance proceeds, condemnation proceeds, or other revenues derived from the mortgage loans, property securing the loans, or other payments or revenues derived from or relating to the making of the loans. Neither the bonds nor interest coupons issued under this section shall ever constitute an indebtedness or a charge against the general credit or taxing powers of the county within the meaning of any constitution, county code provision, or statutory limitation, and neither shall ever constitute or give rise to any pecuniary liability of the county. On the advice of counsel, it may be plainly stated on the face of each bond that it has been issued under the provisions of this section and that it does not constitute an indebtedness to which the faith and credit of the county is pledged.

            (5)      All moneys received from the bonds shall be applied solely for making funds available either directly or through mortgage lending institutions, for residential mortgage loans to persons and families, establishing reserve funds, paying the necessary expenses of the financing, or to advance the payment of interest on the bonds during the first 3 years following the date of the bonds.

      (g)      The county may issue new bonds to provide funds for the payment of any outstanding bonds, in accordance with the procedure prescribed by this section and the provisions of § 24 of Article 31 of the Annotated Code. The new bonds shall be secured to the same extent and shall have the same source of payment as the bonds refunded.

      (h)      Any program effecting the financing under this section may provide for loan agreements, security agreements, loan servicing agreements, forms of mortgages, notes and deeds of trust, and other security, documents, agreements, provisions, and other matter as the county may deem necessary or appropriate to effect the financing of the program. A transaction under this section shall in no event constitute a capital project within the meaning of any charter or statutory provision. The transaction shall be authorized by ordinance or resolution without any referendum or other procedure not applicable to all ordinances or resolutions enacted in the county.