Sweeping changes could see 42 street cleaning and parks department jobs lost in Fife.
Fife Council has confirmed that a “restructuring and integration exercise” is now under way which could see greater use of mechanised road and pavement sweepers.
Fears were raised last month that budget cuts could have a detrimental impact on the cleanliness of some communities.
Councillors had just finished praising officials for the reinstatement of litter picker “barrowmen” in some north east Fife communities, only to be told the implementation of budget cuts on June 9 may see some of these posts disappear.
Presenting a report on the performance of Fife’s street cleaning service, parks department team manager Iain Barbour said Fife street cleaning continues to be a top performer in comparison with other Scottish councils.
But he warned the council’s north east area committee that, in the kingdom, north east Fife could be the hardest hit by the £700,000 cuts about to affect the department and some of the street cleaners “may disappear”.
Asked for an update by The Courier, Damien Woods, Fife Council service manager, said: “On June 9 a restructuring and integration exercise was begun within the parks, streets and open spaces service involving 480 operational staff.
“Litter picking will continue to be carried out with more employees on the ground to carry out this task as multi-functioning teams are set up.”
Tay Bridgehead councillor Tim Brett, whose Liberal Democrat colleagues were among those who raised concerns at the changes, said councillors would be keeping a close eye on what happened next.