The counties represented on the board of directors are hereby authorized and empowered to:
(1) Contribute to the public works of the agency any amount or amounts of money that their respective governing bodies, acting in their sole discretion, shall approve to be paid from the general fund of the respective county. The county legislative bodies are empowered to levy and collect ad valorem taxes for such purposes, which are hereby declared to be for county public purposes; and
(2) Issue their bonds as provided in former §§ 5-11-101 — 5-11-125 [repealed] to obtain funds for the financing of public works by the agency or to secure advances made to the agency for the construction of public works pursuant to cooperative agreements with the agency.