(a) Except as otherwise provided in this subchapter, the area of operation of a regional housing authority shall include all of the counties for which the authority is created and established except that portion of the counties which lies within the territorial boundaries of any city of the first class.
(b) The governing body of each of the counties in the regional housing authority, the commissioners of the regional housing authority, and the governing body of each additional county shall, by resolution, declare that there is a need for the inclusion of the county in the area of operation of the regional housing authority only if:
(1) The governing body of each additional county finds that unsanitary or unsafe inhabited dwelling accommodations exist in the county or there is a shortage of safe or sanitary dwelling accommodations in the county available to persons of low income at rentals they can afford; and
(2) The governing body of each of the counties then included in the area of operation of the regional housing authority, the commissioners of the regional housing authority, and the governing body of each additional county finds that the regional housing authority would be a more efficient or economical administrative unit if the area of operation of the regional housing authority is increased to include the additional county.