Council leaders from the South East want to send a message saying "Hands off" to the Government.
West Sussex County Council hosted a summit meeting of the leaders of nine other counties, which could be abolished in favour of Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott's idea for regional assemblies.
The leaders agreed to form a working party to deliver a combined response to the Government White Paper.
Coun Harold Hall, who chaired the summit, said: "We don't want another expensive round of local government reorganisation.
"This tinkering with political structures will not result in a single extra teacher, social worker or other service provider."
Other council leaders at the summit in Chichester came from East Sussex, Hampshire, Kent, Essex, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire and Surrey.
The meeting heard the results of a poll taken in Hampshire which showed most people feared regional government could mean another layer of costly bureaucracy.
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