Norfolk County Council has shown its hand over the biggest shake-up of local government in 50 years, with officers saying one or two councils is the way forward.
All eight of Norfolk's councils are set to be scrapped and new ones created through local government reorganisation, which would go hand in hand with the creation of a new mayor for Norfolk and Suffolk.
Officers at County Hall have put together the authority's 'interim submission' for local government reorganisation - which would end the current two-tier system of the county council providing some services and others by district, borough and city councils.
The county council's report concludes a single council for the whole of Norfolk would save the most money.
The 19-page submission, which does not include any maps of where new councils would cover, states two councils would also make savings, but not as much.
But officers criticised proposals for three councils, which are favoured by some authorities, including Norwich City Council.
READ MORE: War of words as Norfolk leader slams Norwich City Council
The document states a single council would cost £19m to transition to, but would save £29m a year, while two unitary councils would cost £26m to set up before saving £9m a year.
County Hall officers say the three-council model would cost £32m to create and would be £3m a year more expensive than the current set-up.
Officers state: "A model with more than two councils in the Norfolk geography, would have challenges in terms of savings, tax base, or the ability to sustain financial shocks.
"A unitary council based around the ‘city boundaries’ of Norwich would be at the expense of the other communities in Norfolk."
"The level of cost and risk associated with transition to any new arrangements increases with the number of authorities, with a single unitary authority providing significantly less disruption, cost and risk, with the opportunity to utilise the county council as a ‘continuing authority’."
Officers said the more councils, the more duplication would be needed.
Kay Mason Billig, leader of Norfolk County Council, said: “Initial calculations show we can save millions of pounds that can be reinvested in better services, if we do this right.
"That’s why we are determined to be guided by the data, to develop the best possible proposal by September.
"Our interim submission sets out our thinking so far. There are a number of issues to explore and it’s too early to draw lines on any maps."
The length and level of detail of County Hall's submission is in stark contrast to the 98-page report consultants Deloitte produced for the district councils.
The government had given councils until March 21 to submit initial proposals, with final proposals to be lodged in September.
Ministers had said new councils should cover a population of 500,000 or more as a "guiding principle", but that there "may be certain scenarios" where the half a million figure "does not make sense".
With Norfolk's population at about 925,000, that would mean a three county model would not fit the "guiding principle".
But the Deloitte report for the districts ranked the three unitary option as best overall and considered it the preferable option for due to its "singular focus" on Norwich as an economic driving force.
Norwich City Council leader Mike Stonard is keen for Norwich to become a unitary council, potentially on expanded boundaries.
Breckland Council leader Sam Chapman-Allen and Broadland District Council leader Sue Holland have expressed concerns about "the arbitrary creation of large super-distant unitary councils".
The government has been clear it expects consensus from councils on what reorganisation should look like and that it is prepared to impose models if it does not.
The contrasting conclusions of the documents produced by the county council and the consultants for the districts suggests that consensus is not in place at the moment.
County Hall’s scrutiny committee will consider the report on March 12, before the cabinet finalises it on March 18.
Over the border, Conservative-run Suffolk County Council wants the government to give the go-ahead for a single council covering all of that county.
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