Ratepayers have vented frustration at local councils as some across Perth prepare to raise rates in coming months after most were frozen during the pandemic.

Frustrated listeners questioned what projects money from rate increases had contributed to, after WALGA president Karen Chappel confirmed to Liam Bartlett on 6PR Mornings council rate hikes of about 5%, on top of a similar increase for homeowners from the Emergency Services levy.

“Every now and then a council will have a large project that they have to undertake and they just need to have that increase in funds to finish the projects or meet the expectations of the community,” she told Bartlett.

“The public get a great deal of service from their local government… I think we do the most amazing things for our communities and our people and we offer services that they ask for, and if the public don’t see that I guess that’s their choice not to see it.”

Callers to Mornings weren’t buying Chappel’s defence, claiming little had been done in their jurisdictions despite constant increases.

Hamilton Hill resident Alice said they couldn’t get a broken swing at their local park fixed.

“We have a corner block and we look after their [council] land, and we’ve asked them for things so we can plant things, whatever, and they said ‘no, that’s up to us’.”

“The last time I spoke to the council to get some new swings across the road, the response from them was ‘we’re not Coogee and we don’t pay enough rates’.”

Got a gripe with your local council? Let us know

City of Swan resident Anne said the street lighting on a main street in Ballajura – from one end of Alexander Drive to another – you can’t even see a car on the road, the trees need cutting, differente LED light globes, you ring them and tell them and they say: ‘we’ve got no money in this budget, we’ll do it in the next budget’.”

Listen to other listeners complain what’s wrong with their council