FREMANTLE council has mysteriously sacked most of its rangers, but says the number of front-line troops won’t drop and services won’t be affected.

The Herald heard that three long-term rangers with decades of experience between them have been given the flick, but the council’s business director Glen Dougall refused to confirm the number or why they’d been sacked.

“I’m aware of it,” mayor Brad Pettitt told the Herald, but he says he doesn’t know any details.

Mr Dougall wouldn’t comment on whether the sackings were related to a restructure of the council’s ranger services.

The city has had four rangers who deal with lost cats, dangerous dogs, dogs off leads and opening parks and toilets for events, and four community safety officers who patrol the city for nuisances and low-level crime like street drinking. The community safety officers also mediate between locals, business owners and police.

Under the new regime, these two roles will be rolled together, and there’ll be a total of nine combo ranger/safety officers (up one from the four/four system).

Mr Dougall says having the responsibilities “siloed” wasn’t as efficient and this’ll let rangers deal with any issue that might pop up, instead of one of the community safety officers having to call in one of the animal guys if they see a pooch on the loose.

by DAVID BELL