The fallout from a dramatic change to Argyll and Bute Council's leadership continues with departing councillors sticking by their council tax decisions.

Councillor Gemma Penfold said it was the Tory/LibDem administration's 10 per cent council tax hike that brought more Scottish Government money.

But the record-breaking rise for Argyll and Bute Council provoked anger from the public and opposition councillors called a special meeting where they voted for new leadership.

A tie vote on Thursday saw both provost and leader decided by the luck of a draw of cards.

Cllr Penfold (LibDem, Helensburgh and Lomond South), now in the opposition TALIG group, told the Advertiser she was "disappointed" by the results.

"I am a big believer in what’s for you won’t go by you," she said, "so I wish the new administration the best of luck and I will continue to carry on doing just as I have been for the last two years and try to be the best voice I can for my constituents.

READ MORE: Argyll and Bute Council confirms new provost and leader

"I understand that some people have a negative view on the council tax situation and that point of view has put us in this position but I stand by my original decision which, despite what many people may think, was made to ensure vital services and jobs were not cut further and protection was given to the coming years for the council’s services.

"In the last two years I have had my inbox filled with complaints about bins, potholes, grass cutting and litter - things that should be easy to rectify but due to the amount of cuts in services over the last few years, due to a lack of funding for Argyll and Bute from the Scottish Government, we have found ourselves in a position where tough choices, sadly, had to be made."

The council tax rise is set to be reversed at a meeting on April 15 but only after the more costly bills were sent to residents.

Cllr Penfold, chair of the Helensburgh and Lomond area committee, continued: "Our leader, Councillor Robin Currie, and depute leader, Councillor Gary Mulvaney, managed to successfully negotiate with the Scottish Government and work out a deal which, contrary to what the new administration have been saying, gave us a significant amount of extra money to enable us to finally freeze the council tax.

"Unfortunately, this didn't come in time for us to avoid charging people for April but the meeting and vote to freeze the tax is still scheduled to go ahead on April 15.

"We had asked for this meeting to be moved forward but were unable to secure an earlier date. This was, personally, one of the hardest decisions I have had to make as a councillor as it affected absolutely everyone I represent."

All council positions were voided by the change at the top on April 4 and they will remain empty until the next regular meeting on April 25.

Cllr Penfold said: "It has been a real pleasure to chair the Helensburgh and Lomond area committee over the last two years and I will miss working with the team that supported me in preparing for it every few months.

"My sincere thanks goes out to Stuart McLean and Julieann Small for their help in making sure the agenda ran smoothly, minutes were accurate and keeping me on the right track! I would also like to thank my fellow TALIG members for always keeping things cool, calm and collected, even in the extremely stressful times.

"At the end of the day a split of the cards made the decision as to which group was to lead the council and as I said before, I wish the new administration the best of luck."

During the special meeting, the cut of the cards was required after 18 councillors voted for each of the candidates for provost and council leader.

Luck ensured the opposition - made up of SNP, Independents, Green, Labour and Tory defector Tommy Macpherson - won the day.

Councillor Mark Irvine, who is now on the administration side, said: ​"It was a tough day which produced the right result, albeit a very close thing, and I'm looking forward to working closely with like-minded colleagues to improve the outcomes for local residents in our communities.

"It is why I stood for election two years ago. Councillor Jim Lynch summed it perfectly in his motion when he set out his vision of how the Strategic Partnership move forwards."