Councillor Daniel Meade says it has been an often talked about proposal. But it appears the city council's push to raise rates above the state regulated cap had prompted residents into looking seriously at what could be called 'BWexit' (Bushfield-Woodford exit) similar to Brexit, in regard to the United Kingdom leaving the European Union.

"It has been mooted around the traps for a while with people involved in the (North Warrnambool) footy club and within the wider community," Cr Meade said.

"They have said 'we would love to move over to Moyne and get looked after better'.

"After the rates rise the comments got going a bit quicker. It went from there."

He said the residents weren't ready to talk to the media yet.

"I think there's a small group now doing the numbers to see what is involved in an actual change," he said.

"It started off with a few comments but I think they may be looking into it a bit further.

"My own opinion is that we would welcome them with open arms.

"The two towns would be well-suited to Moyne as they are similar sized towns to what we have.

"We take pride in looking after towns the same size as Woodford and Bushfield.

"That's our specialty - the programs we have in place are set up for towns of this size."

Cr Meade said it was up to residents to push for the change.

"It is up to the community and whether they push it hard enough and see where they would like to go," he said.

"The rates rise the council had to fight hard to get could be the catalyst needed for the Bushfield and Woodford communities.

"Even if it creates more attention for these towns then it's a positive community outcome."

Cr Meade said he wasn't pushing for the changes to council boundaries but he would welcome the two communities into the Moyne Shire.

Warrnambool City Council mayor Tony Herbert said when he first heard about residents wanting to leave he was "very surprised".

Cr Herbert, who did not vote for the rates rise, said Warrnambool was the service centre of the south-west and rates were collected from a population of 34,000.

"We provide services to 120,000 people," he said.

"That is a real challenge. The Essential Services Commission recognised that was a key reason why they supported the application. It's a significant problem. 30 per cent of people who use the Lighthouse Theatre are from outside the council municipality. It's similar with AquaZone.

"With rates capping it has become a significant issue. I am extremely hopeful and positive (chief executive officer) Peter Schneider is very much committed to his council review to see we are operating as efficiently as possible. I imagine the review will look at what we are providing and if it is staffed correctly and providing the right level service. It's an incredibly important review."

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