While it has yet to be confirmed by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, it is believed the state government will allow councils yet to be merged to stand alone, while the communities of amalgamated councils will vote to determine their future.

Despite his excitement about the news, Mr Dickerson, who was a stanch advocate against the amalgamation, said it was the safe option.

“It’s the easy way out. [The government] could say ‘we got it completely and utterly wrong’, but obviously they don’t want to do that. This way they can say ‘we’ve listened to the people’,” Mr Dickerson said.

It’s been eight months since the councils were amalgamated, but Mr Dickerson said he still believed the people would want to see it reversed.

”People have said to me they’ve seen resource stretching. There’s so much focus on the new environment that they’re not getting the day to day things like the lawns mowed and the bubblers repaired,” he said.

And from his personal standpoint, Mr Dickerson said he believed the two councils would be better off separated.

“I’ve not, in the eight months we’ve been amalgamated, seen anything to say we’re better off,” he said.

The former mayor said he had spoken to one resident who had held a tender with council for 12 or 13 years, but with the larger council area could no longer apply for it simply due to the large scale.

Cr Rhoades has advocated for the government to undertake the plebiscites in September, but Mr Dickerson said he wanted to see immediate action.

“If you did it in September at the same time as the other election you’d be electing council’s on the Dubbo Regional Council and then whether you wanted the council to exist,” he said.

Delaying the vote could also make people more complacent with the amalgamation, Mr Dickerson said.