Hampshire’s existing councils will hand over services to new unitary authorities in April 2028 as part of local government reorganisation (LGR).
The new council for Southampton will also cover Eastleigh, the Waterside area of the New Forest and southern wards in Test Valley.
With the clock ticking down on the life of the city council, questions have been raised over the leadership required to get through this uncertain period.
Green Party councillor Matthew Renyard said LGR would place considerable pressure on the council.
Cllr Renyard said the authority could not afford to wind down over the next two years.
He asked Labour council leader Alex Winning how he was going to balance the additional pressures created by LGR.
Cllr Winning said the council merger was a unique challenge where a new authority was being created alongside a push to improve existing services.
Speaking at an overview and scrutiny management committee meeting on Thursday, April 23, Cllr Winning said: “My key thing here about LGR is that yes, I want that new authority to be set up in the right way but absolutely not at the cost of the services we deliver as Southampton City Council.
“We have got about two years left as Southampton City Council and I want this council to end well.
“I do not want us limping to the end.
“I want Southampton City Council to go out with its head held high in a good place where we can say the end of Southampton City Council as an organisation, you know what, we were delivering some decent services and we can take them forward now to the authority and we can be the benchmark.
“It won’t be a Southampton council, it would be part of it, but I want us to go into there leading on services because I think we should be in that position.”
Cllr Winning said improved services had to be felt by residents in the city, adding that this is how the council will be judged.
He said: “We’re not going to limp to the end at all.
“I think the next two years, I’m fully focused genuinely on us seeing out Southampton City Council in a successful way so people can look back and think actually do you know what there was improvement and I felt it.”