LITTLE East Fremantle council was probably in WA premier Colin Barnett’s sights as he took swing this week at council’s hitting ratepayers with above-CPI rates.

The premier was reported by the ABC as complaining that small councils which had avoided mergers in the messy un-reform of earlier this year were now leading the charge in excessive rates.

East Fremantle’s rates are up more than 7 per cent this year, while the CPI is around 2.5 per cent.

Fremantle was next in line locally, raising its rates 5 per cent, while Melville’s went up by 3.75 per cent and Cockburn’s by 3.5 per cent.