Perth Voice Interactive

NEDLANDS and Subiaco residents transitioning to the expanded Perth city council are being wooed with whispers of lower rates and better services.

The transition is part of the Barnett government’s City of Perth Act, the only bit of the premier’s wide-ranging council amalgamation vision that survived.

In an FAQ, Perth city council says “service levels will be maintained throughout the transition, and ultimately improved in the long term.

“We are optimistic we will also be in a position to reduce operating costs, which will naturally provide a flow-in benefit to the city’s ratepayers”.

Last year a ratepayer would have saved anywhere between $100 and $150 if they’d been in Perth instead of Subiaco.

Subiaco mayor Heather Henderson has previously said her residents south of Aberdare Road would be detrimentally impacted by going into Perth, and services and rates could be affected.

The Subiaco Post newspaper also reported Ms Henderson saying she was wary of discussing the Act with Ms Scaffidi following a corruption and crime commission investigation which found the lord mayor had engaged in serious misconduct, and the council ousting its CEO earlier this year. Ms Henderson was more circumspect this week, telling the Voice that Subi would work to “make sure the transition is as seamless as possible, and ultimately it will be the residents who determine their level of satisfaction with their new local government”.

The Act comes into full effect July 1 and the FAQ is on the front page now at the PCC website.

by DAVID BELL