Voters will also be asked if they want an additional councillor, which would increase the number of Shellharbour councillors from seven to eight. 

If the proposal for a mayor to be elected by the people is also supported, Shellharbour City Council would have nine councillors in total.

However even if both proposals are supported by the majority, the changes would not come into force until the 2020 local government elections.

Before Shellharbour City Council was placed in administration in 2008, the council had 12 councillors that represented six wards, plus a mayor elected by the people.

When the council was reinstated in 2011, the number of councillors was cut from 13 to seven, the ward system was abolished and the mayor is now elected each September by councillors.

The current system will remain in place at the 2016 council election.

On Tuesday night Shellharbour City councillors were presented with a report that showed holding a referendum in isolation from the 2016 election would cost the council in the vicinity of $400,000.

If combined with the council election, which is also estimated to cost $400,000, the referendum would only cost an additional $40,000.

The recommendation was moved by Labor councillor John Murray who said the workload placed on seven councillors was significantly more than what he experienced when he was on a previous council that comprised 12 councillors plus a mayor.

However Liberal councillor Kellie Marsh said she had no problem with the current system or the workload and questioned how the expense of extra councillors and a referendum would benefit the community.

Cr Peter Moran said while both council structures had merit, he expressed concern that if one question was supported at the referendum, and the other was not, then Shellharbour council would be stuck with eight councillors, which would increase the likelihood of a mayor using a casting vote.

However councillor Helen Stewart said the proposed changes were more about ensuring the Labor Party had the mayor of its choice in place for four years, not the people’s choice.

"This is an absolute con," Cr Stewart said.

Current mayor Marianne Saliba, who has long advocated for the change, said it was not about politics but rather restoring a system that the community had previously put in place.

It was a system changed by the Liberal State government for Shellharbour CIty, but not neighbouring Wollongong Council when that council was reinstated, Cr Saliba said.

Councillors voted 4-3 to endorse the recommendation with Labor councillors Saliba, Murray, David Boyle and ex-Liberal Paul Rankin voting in favour, with councillors Marsh, Moran and Stewart voting against.