After hearing submissions last Friday, councillors voted this week on their final proposal, resulting in a 5-5 split, forcing Mayor Tony Lepper to use his casting vote to retain the status quo - 10 councillors elected by ward instead of a proposed eight councillors elected at large.
He had initially voted for at-large elections because he thought it would be useful in making decisions because councillors would feel responsible for the entire district.
However, with his second vote, he opted to go the other way because he felt it was his duty to retain the status quo when using a casting vote.
Cr Gordon Stewart, who had been criticised for speaking out against the change, did not vote.
The three councillors who did not hear the verbal submissions did vote, though other councillors discussed whether that should be allowed before they started.
The view was that because they had read the written submissions, they were aware of the general sentiment and the various arguments.
In stating their positions, councillors were just as passionate as some of the verbal submitters and some had changed their initial stances.
Cr John Lane said over the next six years council would be facing some major issues, water and waste water for example, and he did not believe those issues could be satisfactorily resolved with ward-voted councillors.
Deputy Mayor Neil Gillespie said he had initially wanted change, but after Friday was "unconvinced" that changing to eight councillors elected at large would make the council any better or different.
Under this proposal, the numbers on community boards would also stay the same - eight for Vincent, seven for Cromwell and five each for Maniototo and Roxburgh, which would be renamed the Teviot Valley Community Board.
Under the Local Electoral Act 2001, the council has six weeks to give public notice of its final proposal from the closing date for submissions, which was September 28.
If any further submissions are received following that notice, the issue will go to the Local Government Commission for consideration.
