Two reports into the state of New South Wales local governments have landed on ministers’ desks, but the inaction since that point is starting to cause concern in many councils.

The New South Wales State Government spent $1.8 million setting up the Independent Local Government Review Panel and Local Government Acts Taskforce in 2012 to assess the various financial and administrative problems facing local governments.

Many believe it will become a call for amalgamation of councils, which has been employed in Western Australia and Queensland as a method to cut costs by combining formerly separate regions.

It was difficult to know just what the reports actually recommend, as they had been sitting with Minister for Local Government Don Page until they finally surfaced this week.

The release has not prompted any corollary announcement from the Minister, who says that after reviewing the reports for several months the Government will take some more time to consider its response.

“Some ideas will require careful consideration and development,'” he in an interview on Wednesday.

“We need to take the time to get this right.”

The peak body for the state’s councils, Local Government NSW, has urged the State to extend its March 7 consultation deadline until the beginning of May.

The waft of amalgamation still hangs heavily in the air, with the Minister saying that it would not “forced” on local governments, but that the state certainly could not support the 152 councils it currently has.

The Independent Local Government Review Panel says Sydney’s councils at least should be “significantly reduced”, cut from 41 down to between 15 and 18 in coming years.

The Panel made 65 recommendations to improve the sustainability of local government in its report, suggesting mandatory training for councillors and direct election of mayors in metropolitan areas among them.

“People deserve certainty about the future of local government, but the O'Farrell government is using costly consultations and reviews as a smokescreen for inaction,” Acting Opposition Leader, Linda Burney told Fairfax media outlets.