The motion comes after the independent pricing tribunal granted the council a 53.5 per cent rates increase over four years to fund services, infrastructure and "improve financial sustainability".

Cr McAlister said the rate increase was no guarantee that the council would stay financially solvent and the community was "shattered" due to merger benefits and savings that never arrived.

"If you add up all the losses and the $3 million we never saved, that's $75 million that [the merger] has cost the community," he said.

Councillors on Tuesday night will be asked to support Cr McAlister's motion to seek legal advice for a "negligence" against the government and advisory firm KPMG, which produced a secret report ahead of merger.

"Council will need to obtain legal advice with a view to taking action in negligence against the NSW Government and KPMG seeking damages to cover the financial losses incurred as a result of the forced amalgamation," Cr McAlister stated in his motion.

"It is only fair that they right a wrong."

When asked about the potential for high legal costs and a years-long court battle, Cr McAlister said councillors would consider those issues but "people have just had enough" of the merger.

KPMG did not respond to a request to comment in response to the council's motion.

NSW Local Government Minister Shelley Hancock's office referred to a statement from the council regulator, the Office of Local Government, that said "the Mayoral Minute is a matter for the council to consider at the May 25 meeting".

Labor MLC Adam Searle, who this month tried to get the government to release a Boundaries Commission report into the Cootamundra-Gundagai merger, said Riverina council amalgamations had "clearly failed".

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: