Police chiefs have insisted local policing remains at the heart of the service despite plans to close control rooms in Inverness and Aberdeen, and switch the operations to Dundee next spring.
The latest reforms have contributed to poor morale and a less efficient service, according to former Caithness, Sutherland and East Ross area commander, Matthew Reiss.
He and two fellow Highland councillors with previous police service totalling almost 75 years cited the closures, centralisation and perceived lack of local accountability for negativity within the force.
They have also called for the decision about closures to be shelved pending the outcome of an inquiry into the tragedy in which police failed to respond to a fatal car crash on the M9 until three days after it was reported by a passerby.
Assistant chief constable Val Thomson said: “Local policing remains at the heart of Police Scotland.
“That principle is very much at the forefront of the proposed changes in terms of how we deal with calls to us and how we respond.
“Similar concerns have been voiced elsewhere during earlier stages of the programme of change and these have not materialised.”
