Councillor's column - Jan Brown, December 27 2024

I meet folk who still have on their Christmas jumpers not wanting to give it up and others all guns blazing for the New Year.

It’s also a time to recharge our batteries and take stock of what’s past and how we want to move forward into a new year and all the challenges it will throw up at us.

I want to thank everybody who worked so hard over this time to try make sure as many people as possible had a Christmas dinner and some company.

I’m going to talk about community this time. For me community means all of us. From our small villages to the towns in Argyll, we are all one big community.

The most important thing about community is that we all look out for each other. We care about where we live, our neighbours, our schools, buildings, children, facilities, shops, the list really is endless.

But the most important thing about community is that we care. If we stop that then we really will be a much poorer and sad place.

I have been really heartened by the number of people taking part and stepping up in our communities but there is always room for more folk to be a part of helping our communities be better, do more and really make a difference.

Our community councils are, or should be, the guiding lights steering us through difficult times and promoting community events, but to do that they need more people to join.

People who want to make a difference, people with ideas who want their communities to be different, better, offer more for their kids and be a better place to live. It doesn’t cost anything, and I know that you would be welcomed in with open arms. Give it some thought and start the New Year with a spring in your step.

As a councillor the coming year will bring a number of challenges that will need to be navigated through. The budget and the visitor levy are featuring large and receiving a fair amount of press at the minute. These are not the only challenges that lie ahead but are two of the largest.

The meetings for the budget have started already and there will be countless more meetings before the final budget is announced. We will as a council make the best decision that we can with what money we have available and please be assured we will look at and test each option before we make any decision.

If you want to put your thoughts, concerns or comments forward please don’t hesitate to contact me and I’ll make sure they are put forward.

The public consultation into the visitor levy is the first step in the process. It’s not the end of the process, that’s a fair way down the road.

Again, I want to reassure you that there is no decision to impose a levy, that will be the last step and will not be something that will be taken lightly. Again, I urge you to take part, get your views in, this is not just for business owners but is for everybody. What do you want?

That’s it from me folks, thank you all for your help and support in that past year and I look forward to working for and with you all in the year ahead.

Thank you