Councillor talks of "embarrasment" in organisation after motion fails

Councillor Kean’s motion said: "The purpose of area committees within Argyll and Bute Council is to consider local issues and to provide a forum for councillors and communities to raise issues of local importance and interest, and to consider matters which have particular relevance to the area.

"Budget proposals currently under development include measures which will have a material impact on services, assets and communities within the MAKI area.

"Members of the MAKI area committee will be required to consider related budget matters at the February 2026 meeting of the council and, in order to discharge that responsibility, require access to MAKI-specific information and an opportunity for collective consideration within a formal committee setting.

"Budget seminars, whilst available to members, are informal and are not meetings of the council or its committees, are not open to the public, and are intended to provide a council-wide overview rather than consideration of area-specific impacts.

"They therefore do not provide an appropriate or equivalent mechanism for area committee scrutiny or public transparency.

"Members have received representations from constituents expressing concern regarding the potential local impacts of the emerging budget proposals and the lack of accessible public forums in which such matters can be considered at local level."

She then asked the area committee to agree to arrange a special public meeting before the budget is set, allowing officials to brief councillors on the savings options.

Councillor Armour responded: "The council has an established budget process in place over a number of months, including engagement with members through the budget working group and reports to the policy and resources committee.

"These mechanisms provide ample opportunity for members to engage with officers and seek information on implications for their own areas, and to make contact with officers to ask about implications for their areas.

"Having been part of this process, I do not believe the motion is urgent."

He added that the motion would be carried forward to the committee’s next meeting, which is due to be a week after the budget is set.

Councillor Kean told the Courier: "I sent this motion to Shona Barton and Douglas Hendry (executive director) the day before the meeting and asked for confirmation of competency from Douglas - only to find out once rejected by Cllr Armour that Douglas had issues with competency although I asked this question twice and he did not respond to me.

"Major major issues here!"