City council debate back on agenda
Plans for a major redesign of cash-strapped Highland Council are set to reignite the debate about whether Inverness should get its own city council.
The proposed revamp comes in the wake of agreed savings totalling about £50 million to balance the budget. The aim is to match priorities and ambitions to reduced funding levels while also moving towards more local decision-making.
Councillors will be asked on Thursday to approve the creation of a small team at a cost of £175,000 to take on the task and also to set up a cross-party working group from elected members within one week.
The aim is to present a final report with recommendations to the council in December following consultation with communities, staff and other organisations.
Community leaders in Inverness have welcomed the opportunity for a fresh look at the existing structure.
David McGrath, chairman of Smithton and Culloden Community Council, said he had supported the idea of a redesign for years.
"I am sick to death of councillors from outlying villages and areas coming and telling us in Inverness what we should and should not be doing," Mr McGrath said.
He cited planning applications such as the major new housing development at Tornagrain, between Inverness and Nairn, as an example where councillors from outside the area had a say.
"I’m not sure whether we would get a council just for Inverness," he said. "If you look at the demographics, I think the most probable outcome would be a north council, a central council based on Inverness and a west council."
Pat Hayden, chairman of Crown and City Centre Community Centre, thought any redesign should reconsider the possibility of a council for Inverness but stressed it was not something her community council had yet had the opportunity to discuss.
She recalled the former Crown Community Council organised a public debate about the issue in the Town House 11 years ago.
"Our position was to kick-start the process in the hope the councillors would take it forward but sadly that never seemed to happen," she said. "I certainly would be in favour of it being revisited."
Mrs Hayden also noted the £175,000 cost of seconding and funding three full-time staff to work on the project.
"That is a large sum of money," she said. "We need to get value for that. Whatever the group comes up with, it needs to be feasible."
In a report to go to Thursday’s meeting, chief executive Steve Barron states that the work is considered a key investment in the council’s future and that, as a one-off project cost, the money should be funded from non-earmarked balances.
"It can be seen as an opportunity to re-energise elected members and staff to make positive decisions about future ambitions and to provide the confidence which flows from being part of a successful organisation," the report states.
"It should align well with the localism theme which the council has embraced and potentially allows for a more federal structure in which communities can prioritise and decide what is most important to them and how it is resourced."
