The proclamation has been made, the Hilltops Council now exists and has been formed out of the old Boorowa, Harden and Young Shires.
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Boorowa's mayor Wendy Tuckerman has been appointed as administrator and Anthony McMahon as the interim general manager.
David Aber, Young Shire Council's interim general manager, will act as deputy to Mr McMahon.
Mr McMahon has confirmed that Young, Harden and Boorowa Shires cease to exist and the current roles of councillors and mayors also cease to exist.
He said it was likely ratepayers of the new Hilltops Council would be represented by community committees, but what form that would take was still to be ascertained.
Mr McMahon said the news of the merger had taken everyone by surprise.
He said he was informed of the decision early Thursday morning and Ms Tuckerman, currently overseas, was trying to arrange a return flight home in time for a workshop in Sydney this weekend.
The workshop is geared to delve into the finer details of the mergers.
"It has literally all just happened so obviously everything is very fresh and there is a lot to get our heads around," he said.
"Personally we are very pleased with the outcome of the merger decision - it's a good outcome for the region," he said.
"We know that Harden was reluctant but we hope they will come on board now," he said.
All council staff have now been transferred to the new Hilltops Council with Mr McMahon saying it would be business as usual.
"Obviously now Wendy's role is as the voice of the Hilltops community as a whole until the next local government elections in September 2017," he said.
The merger announcements were made at lunchtime Thursday
More details will be released to the public as information comes to hand.
