The council, at its meeting today will consider a report from its property division suggesting the hall review be carried out as part of next year's long-term plan, which would be open for public input.
Property administrator Margaret Hamilton said all except one of the halls - the Drill Hall in Oamaru - were managed by local committees and funded from a special local hall rate over properties in the district surrounding them.
Rates ranged from $13 to $50 a year per property.
Hall committees raised funds for capital works and maintenance, keeping costs to a minimum, although operational costs continued to rise.
"There are a large number of halls in the district, averaging one for every 760 residents, and many halls are within 15km to 20km of each other," she said.
In recent years, the New Zealand Fire Service had raised the issue of fire safety and evacuation plans for the halls. Work was also required to bring them up to New Zealand Building Code standards.
"The cost of this work will be beyond the ability of most local communities to fund," she said.
The Fire Service first raised the issue in 2001 and in 2004-05 basic work was undertaken to install evacuation notices and exit signs.
Last year the Fire Service raised the issue of installing fire alarms at halls which had a high use and more than basic facilities. The cost of putting fire alarms in five halls was about $40,000, more than the entire budget for the year.
If Fire Service regulations were met, it could also lead to other work, such as earthquake-proofing.
At the same time, there appeared to be less community support for some halls and it was becoming increasingly difficult to fill positions on hall committees.
