Greater Wellington Regional Council will draft a proposal for the future structure of Wellington councils, following the announcement of local government reforms.
Council chairwoman Fran Wilde said a new structure could be introduced before the 2013 elections.
She said council would be actively responding to the reform by having representatives draft a proposal for the structure of the Wellington region's councils. This would involve public input at some stage.
If a paper outlining the approach is accepted at a meeting on Tuesday, other councillors and regionally representative groups will be invited to give their input.
"Our council always supports efforts to achieve greater effectiveness and efficiency and we will be interested in seeing the details of the new policies developed."
Ms Wilde said the October 2013 deadline was achievable.
"A wealth of material already exists and there is much experience, particularly from Auckland, that can be drawn on to provide guidance," she said. "This paper will be an important first step in that direction."