“The rats are going to hate this,” City Councilor Gabriela Coletta quipped on Wednesday about a proposal to create a Boston office dedicated to their extermination.

Coletta made her remarks at a City Council meeting, where Council President Ed Flynn’s proposal for an office of pest control headed by a “rat czar” drew widespread support from his colleagues.

Boston’s operation would be modeled after the pest-control operation in New York City, which appointed its first rat czar earlier this month, Flynn said. He is planning to take a train there within the next 30 days to learn about rodent-killing methods.

“Having a dedicated position and office on pest control would allow us to better address the issue, allow for a more streamlined and coordinated process in reducing pests,” Flynn said.

Today, pest control is handled by a number of city departments, including inspectional services, water and sewer, and public works, he said.

A Boston rat czar would have similar responsibilities to New York’s rat leader, who, according to Flynn, coordinates with local government, businesses and community organizations to come up with different ways to kill rodents. The position in New York City pays $155,000.

Several city councilors on Wednesday put forward suggestions on how Boston could carry out the wholesale slaughter.

Ricardo Arroyo and Michael Flaherty discussed using dry ice, which suffocates rats by way of carbon dioxide when placed inside a rat’s nest or burrow.

Flaherty said pest-control workers have told him dog feces are “becoming the meal of choice for rats,” who burrow under parks and playgrounds and get into houses.

Outgoing Councilor Kenzie Bok talked about getting a better handle on trash removal in the city to prevent rat infestations.

“We can downstream try to kill rats as much as we want, but fundamentally, we have to remove the food source if we want to make a serious dent in this problem,” Bok said.

A rat czar may be a laughing matter to some, Arroyo said, but “these are the kinds of things that make a real change in people’s lives on a day-to-day basis,” particularly for restaurants that produce a lot of waste and the residents that live nearby.

“These are the kinds of things that really increase the quality of your life, keep our communities healthy,” Arroyo said.

No vote was taken on Wednesday. The matter was referred to the council’s committee of city services and innovation technology.