A senior councillor has renewed calls for Perth and Kinross Council to develop an app.
Cllr Tom McEwan made the appeal at a recent meeting of the Housing and Social Wellbeing Committee which he convenes.
He said with the majority of people having smart-phones, it would allow members of the public to engage more easily and efficiently with the council.
The SNP Blairgowrie and Glens ward councillor once again raised the suggestion as the committee noted the newly revised Perth and Kinross Tenant Participation Strategy 2024-27.
Cllr McEwan said: “We’ve discussed removing barriers to people who find it difficult to engage with us and I think any work we can do in any direction to improve participation and remove barriers is welcome.
“My personal view – and I have made comment previously – is that I think the council should be looking at developing apps for phones to engage with the public. Whether that’s for the wider council benefit or for the Housing service, I think that’s something for further discussion down the line.
“Nowadays most people have a phone in their pocket and engaging through an app and quick questions and surveys are very easily done rather than some of the more laborious processes of paper and logging into computers and remembering passwords, etc..
“I do think there is room for innovation in this area and I look forward to seeing how our officers can develop and come up with ideas in the future.”
Over five years ago in February 2019 former councillor Callum Purves made a similar call. He suggested an app would make it easier for constituents to report the likes of a pothole, fly-tipping and missed bin collections and save the council money on administration costs.
Back in 2019 the former Kinross-shire representative said: “Other councils have already implemented an app.
“We are trying to move towards doing more things online. It’s what people expect these days.
“If there was an app and you saw a pothole, you could take a photo and send it straight away to the council and they could action it quickly.
“It would reduce administration in the council and would be more user-friendly for constituents.”