Grassroots democracy is a wonderful Australian tradition, but could the Colour City be getting too much of a good thing?

One local government representative thinks so, and would like to see the number of councillors for Orange reduced from the current 12.

So keen is he on the issue that Cr Steve Peterson is proposing that a vote on the matter by ratepayers be held concurrently with the next council elections in September 2028.

For instance, Sydney City Council covers a quarter of a million people with a budget of near a billion dollars a year. For one of the world's great cosmopolitan cities, it seems to get by alright with only 10 elected officials.

"Probably at the next council meeting I'll introduce it, to reduce the number of councillors, I'll put the motion forward that we ask the ratepayers what they think of the idea," Cr Peterson told Orange City Life.

"I am hoping that council decides to allow Orange ratepayers to have a plebiscite on their preferred number of councillors; we currently have 12, and I would like to offer nine as an alternative," he added.

Doing a bit of his own research, Cr Peterson found that council is definitely on the higher end of councillor numbers, with similarly-sized regional centres like Bathurst, Wagga Wagga, and Tamworth having nine, while Dubbo has 11. The highest number of councillors for any local government area statewide is a hefty 15.

Having even numbers of councillors can also lead to gridlock in decision-making, with the mayor then forced to use a deadlock second vote to resolve matters.

"An odd number of councillors would reduce the chance of a drawn voting result; it's not an ideal situation where we can be tied for a vote, it's not really how it's supposed to work," Cr Peterson said.

"This occurred during the 2021 deputy mayor election, requiring the winner to be determined by a name drawn out of a barrel as per state government procedures," he recalled.

Whether to stick with the current 12 councillors or reduce the number to nine is a subject that should be put to the people, he believes, and would not entail a huge outlay for the budget.

"I feel that Orange ratepayers should be offered the chance to determine how many councillors should represent them.

"This would be done at the next council election at an additional one-off cost of approximately $50,000," Cr Peterson estimated.

A yes vote to the change, he adds, would garner long-term cost savings for the district overall at a time when capped rate increases and reduced federal and state government payments are hitting all local government areas.

"I have suggested an alternative of nine councillors be put to the vote," Cr Peterson said.

"This is a common number and would make substantial financial savings (approximately $100,000 annually), if that is what the community chooses," he concluded.

While the old British political phrase "Turkeys voting for an early Christmas" comes to mind with the proposal, it will be interesting to see how the councillors respond themselves to the idea of reducing their own number by 25 per cent.