Community councils across Fife are in danger of folding as the deadline for nominations looms.
Only a handful had enough prospective members on Friday and nomination papers must be submitted by 4pm on Thursday.
Out of a possible 105 community councils, only 12 had sufficient nominations to reform and 60 were yet to receive a single nomination.
Fife Council has urged people who want to stand up for their town or village to put their name in the hat before it is too late.
Co-leader Councillor David Alexander, said: “Community councils are an important part of giving our communities a voice.
“They can provide us, as councillors and statutory bodies, with the grassroots viewpoint and opinions that are essential to shaping services and making decisions about issues that matter to local people.”
However, the local authority was accused by Councillor Linda Holt of making the process more complicated than that for Fife Council candidates and failing to value community councils.
She said: “The responsibility for the low number of nominations to community councils rests squarely with Fife Council.
“The process is also unnecessarily complex and cumbersome, requiring nominees, proposers and seconders to enter their elector numbers which are only available on paper copies of the electoral register held at local offices, libraries and by some community councils if they have requested one.
“Moreover, it seems absurd that a candidate for a community council election requires a proposer and a seconder while candidates for Fife Council do not.
“This is part of a much bigger problem where, for too long, community councils and the hundreds of volunteers who man them and come to meetings have been taken for granted by Fife Council.”
The council’s head of democratic services, Linda Bissett, said: “Community councils are voluntary organisations but they play an important role in local democracy.
“As mentioned in the nomination guidance notes, the electoral register is available for public inspection at council offices and libraries around Fife.
“The notes also provide contact details for the electoral registration office where the team can help confirm an elector number, as long as the person hasn’t opted out of the open register, and we’ve been taking calls about this.
“We’ve also advised community councils that we will help check and add elector numbers to a nomination paper if the candidate is unable to establish their own number or those of their proposer and seconder.”
Among community councils with too few or no nominees were Buckhaven and Denbeath, Central Dunfermline, Inverkeithing, Leven, North Glenrothes, Kilrenny, Anstruther and Cellardyke, Kirkcaldy’s East, North, West and Templehall groups.
Only Cameron, Cardenden, Cowdenbeath, Guardbridge and district, Hill of Beath, Kelty, Kettle, Largo area, Crail and district, Falkland and Newton of Falkland, Thornton and Townhill had enough interest to reform.
The deadline for St Andrews nominations has been postponed to allow students of St Andrews University to participate.
