The first uncontested budget at Argyll and Bute Council for four years will see a 3% rise in council tax.
And as council leader Aileen Morton announced an extra £8.3million for local authority roads in the next two years, she called on the Scottish Government to invest more money in the region’s trunk roads.
The council’s total budget has reduced from £243.738m in 2014/15 to £236.311 in 2018/19, an overall reduction of 3.05%, she said.
Policy lead for strategic finance Gary Mulvaney said tough decisions in previous years meant that the council was in a better position than most now.
A proposal to close 36 of the council’s 57 public toilets was rejected. Because this is not a statutory service, the council will be looking for community groups to take them over in the future.
A total of 13.6 FTE positions will go during the next two financial years.
Planning applications will now be displayed online instead of in post offices and there will be a re-design of Trading Standards. There will be an increase of 3% for harbour fees over and above the standard 3% increase for all services.
Ms Morton, leader of The Argyll Lomond and the Islands Group, a coalition of LibDem, Tory and independent councillors, said the extra roads money means more than £15m will be invested in the infrastructure during the next two years.
An extra £1.5million was provided for health and social care services, plus £767,000 for the council’s IT system.
Ms Morton said: “We feel that this massive cash injection for roads, along with the other investments we want to make in our communities, is as vital as it is significant.
“However, it’s not just the council’s roads that are attracting attention at the moment. The trunk road network in Argyll and Bute has now hit truly appalling levels with the A83, A82 and A85 all needing substantial investment. I call on the Scottish Government to invest in our roads right now. The fragility and poor condition of our trunk roads is just not good enough and more must be done.”
Michael Russell, SNP MSP for Argyll and Bute, said: “I have been on both trunk and council roads in the last week and I agree both need a lot of work.
“There is a special rolling programme of repair on the A83.
“I think we should all get on and do our job. Aileen Morton needs to focus on getting the council roads up to scratch because my evidence is they are not doing a great job either.”
