Rutland County Council has agreed to engage with residents on reorganisation plans before a proposal is submitted to the Government.
This was agreed as part of an amendment put forward by Conservative group leader Lucy Stephenson, which also said councillors should get to vote on the final proposals.
Rutland, a unitary council representing about 41,000 residents, is in talks with bordering Leicestershire County Council and its districts about forming a larger unitary authority.
A council report said devolution and reorganisation ‘must be delivered in a way that recognises and promotes the needs of Rutland residents, businesses and communities, predicated on the understanding that councils perform best when their boundaries reflect the way people live their lives’.
The Government has asked the region for an outline plan for reorganisation by 21 March and a full proposal by 28 November, having not given Leicestershire approval to postpone its elections in May.