Two Dubbo councillors said they did not have enough detail about the changes that will be proposed to take effect in 2016 for the City of Sydney, with one saying it could be seen as "giving developers and landlords priority over the individual mum and dad ratepayer".

In contrast, one of their colleagues said the attempt to force business ratepayers to vote should expand across the state, while another councillor said Sydney needed a different system but urged caution if changes were made at Dubbo.

Local government minister Paul Toole confirmed on Tuesday a bill to be introduced this week making it compulsory for businesses to vote in the City of Sydney elections "could be rolled out to other parts of the state".

Mr Toole said the reforms would be modelled on the City of Melbourne, where a business owner is entitled to two votes - one as a resident and one as a business owner.

Currently in NSW a person who operates a business in one council area but lives in another may choose to vote in both of those council's elections - but only if they enrol before every poll.

Prior to the 2012 local government election Dubbo City Council reported it had 1375 business ratepayers on its books.

Mayor Mathew Dickerson said the main issue with the bill was they really did not know enough about it.

"I would advocate that the introduction of the bill be delayed until there has been an opportunity for comment on the draft bill," he said.

"I am not sure if it would be (of) more relevance to Sydney councils where people often own businesses in a different LGA (local government area) as opposed to the LGA they live in whereas most business owners in Dubbo also live in Dubbo.

Cr Greg Mohr said he was in favour of the changes.

"Why should only (residents) have a say in the area in which they live," he said.

"In large places such as Sydney where the main attraction in the CBD is shops and businesses alike, I am of the opinion that everyone should have a voice it provides a greater choice for the voter to elect people with common interest in the area and not just specific people or group.

"Unlike most country areas most cities vote for which political party they follow which represents their interests."

Cr John Walkom also said without more information he could not support the bill.

"While the devil is always in the detail, it's is imperative that community consultation is undertaken first and foremost," he said.

"We are seeing enough impropriety at present with the hearings at ICAC.

"A bill such as this can be seen as giving developers and landlord's priority over the individual mum and dad rate payer, I can not support this as it currently stands without having a full understanding of the bill or community consultation."

Deputy mayor Ben Shields said "the City of Sydney is very different to what happens in regional centres like Dubbo".

"Right now business rates makes up around 70 per cent of income for City of Sydney Council yet only have about 2 per cent of the overall vote as non-residential voting is non-compulsory.

"The changes makes it compulsory for businesses to vote.

"In a major city CBD the political landscape is vastly different as the CBD of Sydney serves people all over state and is indeed the business hub for the whole country.

"Obviously a different system needs to be in place there. "As for Dubbo, our council is based on serving locals and providing essential services to locals.

"While I support having our businesses have a say in the running of the city, we must be careful that what ever changes that are made, councils like Dubbo remain focussed on delivering the best and most cost effective services to our locals."

The Daily Liberal invited comment from all Dubbo councillors.

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