► Planned enlargement to council ward boundaries
Councillors are unhappy with the latest proposals to expand the size of local council wards despite instigating the move themselves.
The Comhairle reckons there are too many councillors and asked the Scottish Boundary Commission to cut their own numbers.
Originally, the council sought to slash the figure to just 22 elected members -
Then they backtracked and suggested just five councillors’ posts should be axed.
Councillors unhappy with proposed ward changes
1 May 2015
This requires changing ward boundaries to ensure a reasonably fair spread of representation in different areas.
The council firmly requested a cut of five councillors across the Western Isles on the basis of one councillor per 1,000 electors instead of the current ratio of one per 750 voters. This would reduce the Comhairle to 26 elected members.
But now, councillors are upset at the consequence, complaining the latest proposed ward changes does not reflect natural communities.
They will hold a special seminar on the issue.
The Comhairle wants different sized wards consisting of two to six councillors to better reflect the geography and natural communities of the islands rather than a requirement that electoral wards have either three of four members.
The former one councillor ward system which councillors say worked well in island areas was abolished as part of the coalition deal between Labour and the Liberal Democrats in Scotland in 2004.