The council's committee of the whole has recommended retaining the one councillor for the Ahuriri ward, even though its population to warrant a councillor is well below the average for the district and the Oamaru, Waihemo and Corriedale wards.
The move comes as other Otago councils are looking at cutting representation and also questioning the future of their community boards.
The council will make a decision on June 26 to put the representation proposal out for public comment. It will then consider submissions before making a final decision which can be appealed to the Local Government Commission.
At present, the council is made up of the mayor, elected by the whole district, six councillors from the Oamaru ward, two from Corriedale and one each from the Waihemo and Ahuriri wards. It has two community boards, each with five members, for Ahuriri and Waihemo. .
The committee is recommending the status quo remain.
Statistics show the Ahuriri ward, in population terms, is 40% below the district average of one councillor to 2089 of population.
Ahuriri's one councillor represents 1250 people. Waihemo has 2290 people to a councillor, Corriedale 2275 and Oamaru 2133.
The Local Electoral Act said population must be within plus or minus 10% of the average for a separate councillor, but exceptions were allowed in special circumstances.
While there is an imbalance, the council's representation review committee found Ahuriri had a strong rural community of interest focused on the Waitaki River and high country, strongly associated with hydro-electricity generation.
There were major differences, including isolation, between the Ahuriri and Corriedale wards.
"Council believes a dedicated representative in the Ahuriri area is essential to effectively represent the community of interest on these major issues," it said.
The committee has also recommended the retention of the two community boards, established when the district was formed in 1989. It did not recommend establishing community boards for the Corriedale or Oamaru wards.
