HUNDREDS of staff could go and many schools close in the Highlands as the local authority seeks savings of £100 million over the next four years.
Highland Council has already agreed cuts of £12.9m for the coming year and says £87.6m is needed by 2013 with no increase in budget allocations from the government expected, in the wake of the worldwide recession.
While it does not know its grant
settlements for 2010-2013, it is basing its predictions on expected grant settlement, inflation and pay awards.
All council departments have been asked to come forward with savings proposals of five per cent on budgets in 2010-2011 and six per cent in both 2011-2012 and 2012-2013.
David Alston, chairman of the council's audit and scrutiny committee, said: "
Clearly education is our biggest service and accounts for half our service budget. We will have to look at places where schools can be amalgamated.
"We also have to look at things we can stop doing. We have to ask questions about the role of the council in support of sport and the arts for example."
He added: "There are some very tough times ahead. A large part of our costs are from staff. In three years' time, the council will employ fewer staff – we are talking about hundreds fewer.
"We will always try to manage that without compulsory redundancies but there cannot be any guarantees of that when we are facing financial problems on that scale."
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "The Scottish Government has provided a more generous settlement to councils in Scotland than the UK Government has given to local authorities south of the border, and by working together with our partners in local government we are delivering for the people of Scotland."
