For council's meeting on October 30, Cr Mitchell Nadin has given a notice of motion that council hold a referendum at the 2020 local government elections asking if the public wants this opportunity.

In the meeting's agenda Cr Nadin said if the referendum showed the majority of voters said yes, it would allow for the election of a popularly-elected mayor at the 2024 council elections.

He said the referendum would involve a 10 per cent increase in the coming election's cost, which would be about $33,000 that would need to be included in the 2020/21 budget.

"Councillors previously considered this matter in April this year however I believe that some councillors may have changed their minds in relation to the matter so believe further consideration is required," he said.

A council spokesperson said they believed the cost of a separate mayoral election process would be in the vicinity of $100,000 every four years.

They said the term for a popularly-elected mayor would be four years as opposed to the current two years.

The idea of the public choosing their own mayor has been raised in council a number of times.

Earlier this year Cr Tony Allen's notice of motion was lost, with councillors voting in the majority to maintain the practice of holding their own internal ballot on who sits in the mayor's chair.

In November 2016 a motion on the matter launched by Cr Robyn Bain failed, and the idea was raised by then-Deputy Mayor Liz Seckold in 2014 as well as former councillor David Hede in 2008.

In the last two cases the matter was dropped after cost estimates on the process were received.

But it is an idea supported by many readers of the Bega District News as three polls it has organised, run in 2014, 2015 and 2019, found about 80 per cent of respondents wanted to choose their own mayor.