Cr Kidd, who is not seeking re-election, said on Tuesday he believed Orange could function more effectively with nine councillors as opposed to the 12.

"I'll bring it up - it's time we thought about it," Cr Kidd said.

"It's something for the new council to consider."

It is understood that as council is in caretaker mode before the December 4 local government elections, it would require the support of the incoming council for a referendum on the issue to proceed.

Cr Kidd was critical of some of his peers' attendance this term, with more than half missing around 10 per cent of the meetings or more.

"This term we've had 103 meetings and there are 26 advisory committees," he said.

"Some people got to 90 per cent but that means 10 per cent have been missed. If you were the principal at a high school you'd be chasing that up," he said.

Cr Kidd said council was a multi-million dollar business and deserved councillors' full attention.

"I think we definitely need to push forward with a review of councillor [numbers]."

He was also critical of attendance on advisory committees.

Orange City Council had been served by 14 councillors until 2008 with Cr Kidd putting forward a similar motion for a reduction to 12.

He said the financial gain of reducing the number to nine would be minimal but agreed the workload might increase.

"I think it puts more emphasis on people getting in and serving the community," he said.

Councillors are paid a $24,810 allowance while the mayor gets an additional $61,280 and Cr Kidd said the financial gain in reducing the number of councillors is minimal.

The allowances are based on the size of the population served.

Dubbo is served by 10 councillors but will have a referendum at this election to increase the number to 11.

The local government elections are on December 4 with the polls open from 8am to 6pm.

Counting will begin that night from 6pm.

Pre-polling starts on November 22 and can be completed at the Electoral Office in William Street.

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