Committee will deal with ‘bread and butter’ local issues
It is hoped a year- long pilot devolving Kinrossshire decisions to a local committee will launch later this year.
Perth and Kinross councillors made an in-principle agreement to the radical proposal at a budget meeting in March, 2021.
Since then Kinrosss h i re councillors have worked with council officers to devise a scheme of administration which will go before the full council on October 6.
The scheme of administration sets out how the Kinrossshire Local Committee will operate and what decisions it will and will not make.
The committee would comprise all four Kinross- shire councillors - who will have voting rights - and a representative from each of the six community councils - who will not have voting rights.
The six Kinrosss h i re commu n i t y councils are Cleish and Blairadam, Fossoway and District, Glenfarg, Kinross, Milnathort and Portmoak.
Historically Kinrossshire formed a joint county council with Perthshire back in 1929. In 1975 the burgh of Kinross amalgamated with other local burghs to form Perth and Kinross District Council - within Tayside Region - before its modern-day successor Perth and Kinross Council was created in 1996.
The piloted scheme proposes to grant the local committee the power to make decisions on economic development, tourism, community transport, road safety, footpaths and infrastructure projects in Kinross-shire.
The committee would not determine quasijudicial matters such as planning and licensing applications.
The motion going before Perth and Kinross Council on Wednesday proposes to have Conservative Kinrossshire councillor Mike Barnacle as convener and Conser vat i v e Kinross-shire councillor Callum Purves as viceconvener.
Cllr Purves told the PA: “We are needing the support of all the council but we would hope to have the first meeting before the end of the year.
“It will give people in Kinross-shire more say on bread and butter issues.”