A unitary authority is a territorial authority with regional council responsibilities headed by a mayor.
Councillor Kevin Gilbert sent the notion of motion, saying he believed a conversation about governance structure was needed.
The motion recommended that council requests staff to prepare a high-level report for discussions about a possible unitary authority for Otago by December.
Councillors will discuss this at their meeting on Tuesday.
It is not the first time the idea of a unitary authority for Otago has been floated.
Cr Lee Vandervis put forward a similar motion in 2017, which was agreed to unanimously by councillors at the time.
However, the report never materialised and the idea was shelved in 2019 in the lead up to local body elections.
- RNZ/ODT
