LOCAL government reorganisation is unlikely to take place for two years, Teignmouth councillors heard.
The prediction was made by Cllr Sylvia Russell, who said the government would consider the advice of the boundary commission by July 15.
'An announcement on the matter is expected to be made in August, but whether anything will be acted on during the parliamentary recess is anybody's guess,' she told a town council meeting.
'If a decision is made in October, there would still just be time to bring in any new authority by April 2010, but in the real world it is more likely to be April 2011.'
Cllr Russell was reporting on a meeting for parish councillors and town clerks at Teignbridge for a presentation on the further draft proposals.
'It is generally felt that unitary administrations already cover much of the urban areas of the UK, and the latest round is now looking at a pattern for former shire counties.'
Teignmouth Town Council has backed a single unitary authority for Devon, and has now been asked if it wants to change this, in light of further draft proposals from the boundary commission.
New guidance focuses on the 'affordability' criterion. An alternative proposal for an authority made up of Exeter and Exmouth rural Devon was viewed with alarm by the county council, which would be left with all the small schools, miles of rural roads, with all the major economic and prosperous residential areas retained in Exeter and east Devon, Cllr Russell pointed out. This would almost certainly mean an increased financial burden on the remaining population.
'Both proposals have to ensure economies of scale, and the guidance makes clear that whatever pattern of unitary local government is chosen, it must be affordable, and the transitional costs of change be paid back within five years.
'All costs of structural change must be met locally, without increasing council tax on average.'
The town council will consider the topic again at a future meeting.