If the voting age is lowered from 18, it should be accompanied by civics education, the council said.
Discussion this week about the voting age arose from a draft submission from the council to a review panel about the future of local government.
Cr Lee Vandervis, who voted against sending the submission, said the development of 16-year-olds was not considered sufficient for them to buy alcohol or cigarettes or gamble at the TAB.
Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich and Crs Steve Walker, Christine Garey, Marie Laufiso, Mandy Mayhem and Bill Acklin were among the elected members who made counter-arguments.
They included that 16-year-olds were permitted to leave school to work, could consent to sex and learn to drive.
They also had a stake in council and government decision-making when it came to matters such as climate change, Cr Walker said.
The council submission was in support of uniform adoption of the single-transferable vote electoral system, which is used by the Dunedin council.
Cr Vandervis said he did not believe most people in Dunedin supported STV.
He noted it seemed to result in greater diversity of councillors elected, but suspected this was "bought at the expense of popular representation" and amplified minority voices.
Cr Laufiso lamented the "rightness of whiteness denigration of STV".
Democracy did not necessarily serve the needs of tangata whenua, who by history had been overrun by a larger population that was now in control, she said.
Cr Laufiso saw STV as helping to redress the balance.
Cr Garey said it was important for minorities to have a voice that was heard.
"We are proud of the diversity in our community," she said.
The submission covered ways local democracy might be strengthened, the importance of genuine relationships between local and central government and mana whenua, and how community wellbeing might be enhanced.
Cr Carmen Houlahan was worried about central government telling local government what to do.
The Government’s enthusiasm for reform of local government, Three Waters and resource management seemed to be at the expense of "the local voice".
Local Government New Zealand president Stuart Crosby has said the ways local and central government work with communities should be reimagined.
"Right now, 90% of the country’s public expenditure is allocated by central government," he said.
That put New Zealand in the top three most centralised countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, he said.
Mr Radich said he wanted to see some funding made available for councils directly from taxation and for councils to have discretion about how it would be spent.
