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FORMER politician Basil Fitch is calling for a radical overhaul of the way Tasmania does local government.
The former long-serving alderman - who held positions on St Leonards and Launceston City councils through a period of amalgamation - has called for a stripped down model of civic governance.
Launceston aldermen Rob Soward has also joined the chorus putting forward his own savings plan based on mergers.
The two views are in contrast to those of academic Brian Dollery who put the kybosh on mergers in a report handed down last month.
Mr Fitch's proposal is the most radical of the three.
He wants council elections to be shelved and the 29 councils to be merged into three - North, North West and South.
Each would have eight ward representatives serving over an umbrella of community boards.
Once again he has called for an ``age test'' that would see councillors aged just 35 years on average in order to weed out what he sees as elderly elected members topping up their retirement savings.
He also wants to see the level of predicted savings to be deducted from rates charges in advance.
Before amalgamation, Mr Fitch wants councils to pay of their debt to avoid burdening incoming ratepayers whose councils were not in debt.
``Why should residents in West Tamar be lumped with Launceston's debt?'' he said.
In a different approach, Alderman Soward has put forward a plan designed to save $1.4 million in wages alone based on a merger of Launceston, West Tamar, Meander Valley and the Northern Midlands councils.
Alderman Soward said that a great deal more savings would be made once economies of scale were factored in and duplication removed.
Professor Dollery argues that changing the number of councils would only ``scratch the surface'' of problems facing local government and real reform would involve a new funding arrangement.