An outback community says they have been left with a $6 million shortfall after a request for disaster relief funding was rejected.

Ian Holland, Shire of Yalgoo CEO told Simon Beaumont on 6PR’s Perth Today, “We are still trying to understand where DFES is sitting with it, it looks like it’s a bit of a captain call and there’s no right of appeal or anything else.”

“[$6 Million] is our entire yearly budget so we are going to have to look at cutting capital projects and going to the bare bones of maintenance for a couple of years,” Holland continued.

Click PLAY to hear the full interview with Ian Holland, Shire of Yalgoo CEO.

Assistant Commissioner Disaster and Resilience at Dept Fire & Emergency Services, Kate Vivian has responded by saying, “The claims made by the Shire of Yalgoo Chief Executive, they’re not accurate and ultimately the shire did not follow the criteria set by the commonwealth that is required to have the cost of the roadwork covered by the disaster recovery funding arrangements.”

“They went ahead and proceeded with the works before they had approval.”

“At the end of the day there are rules in place, and they have to be followed,” Ms Vivian continued.

Click PLAY to hear the full response from Kate Vivian, Assistant Commissioner Disaster and Resilience at Dept Fire & Emergency Services.

Image: Supplied