A final report after an extensive two-year local government review has identified 12 of Tasmania's councils that could be merged into seven.
The Future of Local Government report found Tasmania's high number of councils — 29 — led to "unhelpful competition, fragmentation and duplication".
Earlier in the year, the Local Government Board indicated it would use its report to recommend forced council mergers, but this proved difficult and unpopular, leading Local Government Minister Nic Street to rule them out.
The board's final report says a reduction in the number of councils from 29 to 15 would be an ideal "alternative" structure, but with forced mergers off the table, efforts should be concentrated on 12 councils that could be willing to merge.
The recommendations include combining Kentish and Latrobe councils; Break O Day, Glamorgan Spring Bay and Sorrell; and Kingborough with Huon Valley.
The report also recommends creating two councils out of West Coast, Waratah-Wynyard, and Circular Head; and reforming Hobart and Glenorchy into two new local government areas.
Those proposed reforms are now open to public feedback until the end of February next year.
"Voluntary amalgamations, any new shared services arrangements, and all supporting specific reforms are expected to take around two years starting in 2024," the report reads.
"The Tasmanian government has made a commitment that council boundaries will not change unless there is support from individual councils and their communities."
Break O'Day mayor hopes for merger to 'share our resources'
The president of Tasmania's Local Government Association, Mick Tucker, who is also mayor of one of the councils recommended for merger, Break O Day, told ABC Radio Mornings he could only see positives in his council merging with others along the east coast.
"There will be no job losses, and we believe there will be increased productivity," he said.
"We can share our resources.
"Why have two sets of machinery, when one set with a little increase can do the lot. So, we can be more efficient through sharing."
Mr Tucker said while he understood that some local government areas would be wary of amalgamations over fears they would lose local representation or access to services, he said the current proposed mergers would not be enough to achieve the reduction in municipalities recommended by the report.
He hoped others would at least engage with the process with an open mind and do what is best for their ratepayers.
"It might not suit everybody, but we need to be grown up and mature enough to look at what's been recommended, pick out all the good bits, discuss what's not so good, if necessary, test the assumptions, but be mature enough to put forward a really good submission.
"We need to understand: can we do better, can we be better?"
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