(a) Certificates of an authority shall be confirmed and validated in accordance with the procedure of Article 3 of Chapter 82 of Title 36; and, when validated, the judgment of validation shall be final and conclusive with respect to such certificates and against the authority issuing the same.

(b) In the event that the payments to be made by any city or county, under contract entered into between the authority and the subdivision, are pledged to the security or payment of revenue certificates sought to be validated, the hospital authority, as an integral part of the validation proceedings, shall have a right of action against the contracting subdivision or subdivisions for a declaratory adjudication of the validity and binding effect of the contract, the actual controversy therein being whether or not the contract is in all respects valid and binding upon the subdivision or subdivisions. The subdivision or subdivisions shall be made a party or parties to the action, and it shall be incumbent on the subdivisions to defend against an adjudication of the validity of such contract or be forever bound. Notice of the proceedings shall be included in the notice of validation hearing required to be issued and published by the clerk of the superior court in which such validation proceeding is pending. Any citizen resident in any subdivision which is a party to the contract may intervene in the validation proceedings at or before the time set for the validation hearing by order of the superior court and assert any ground or objection to the validity and binding effect of the contract on his own behalf and on behalf of the subdivision and all citizens, residents, and property owners thereof. An adjudication as to the validity of the contract, unexcepted to within the time provided for exceptions in Article 3 of Chapter 82 of Title 36, shall be conclusive and binding upon the subdivision or subdivisions and the resident citizens and property owners thereof.