There were angry exchanges in the chambers during the opening meeting of the authority as councillors were accused of slacking.
One of the new administration’s first proposals was to reduce the size of committees from 13 members to 11.
Convener James Allan explained the new system would free up councillors to spend more time dealing with local issues.
However, Elgin City South councillor John Divers argued that members already had a light workload and were shirking duties compared to the past.
He said: “I’ve been in the council long enough to remember when all the councillors were on every committee – and there were up to two meetings a day.
“Reducing the amount of people on the committees is just a cop out from the work load.”
Councillors met yesterday to agree the structure of meetings as well as who should chair the discussions.
Mr Allan explained: “As a group, we felt there was a lot of work on committees if you were in administration.
“If you had a few meetings in a few meetings in a week then you could be landed with a big pile to go through on a Sunday.”
Council leader George Alexander added: “It’s important you have the time to read all the papers and you don’t skim over them.”
Councillors voted to reduce the size of committees to 11 members by 13 votes to 10.
Committee appointments;
Policy and resources: chairman George Alexander, independent; deputy chairman James Allan, Conservative.
Children and young people’s services: chairman Tim Eagle, Conservative; deputy chairman Frank Brown, Conservative.
Communities: chairwoman Lorna Cresswell, independent; deputy chairman Donald Gatt, Conservative.
Economic development and infrastructure: chairman John Cowe, independent; deputy chairman Walter Wilson, Conservative.
Planning and regulatory services; chairwoman Claire Feaver, Conservative; deputy chairman Walter Wilson, Conservative.
Licensing: chairman Gordon Cowie, independent; deputy chairman Ron Shepherd, independent.