Another councillor may be added to the Otago Regional Council as it considers how to ensure fair representation across the region.
The 11-member council is required to review its representation before next year's elections and population increases in its Dunstan constituency, which covers Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes districts, have created a possible dilemma.
The area is represented by Crs Duncan Butcher and Gerry Eckhoff.
Local authorities are required under the Local Government Act to carry out a review every six years. At its last review, the Otago Regional Council made the decision to cut a councillor from its Moeraki constituency to meet representation objectives.
Councils are required to consider community of interest, effective representation and fair representation when making their decision.
At Tuesday's council meeting, councillors will consider a report saying the preferred option to meet the region's representation problem is to add a councillor so Dunstan is represented by three councillors.
However, in doing that the Moeraki and Dunstan constituencies would still be slightly outside the recommended criteria.
Council corporate services director Wayne Scott said the only additional cost to council would be travel costs between the Dunstan constituency and Dunedin.
The Remuneration Authority provided a pool of funds which councillors divided among themselves, so if a new councillor was added, the amount each was paid would be less.
If the council did decide to recommend the preferred option, it would have to be referred to the Local Government Commission for determination and then put out for public consultation.
