Introduction
Council has an Integrated Planning Framework that aligns its operational, corporate and strategic plans to deliver core services, and achieve sustainable improvements for the Council and community. The framework includes long, medium and short-term plans that set the direction of everything we do.
The Budget forms an important part of Council’s Integrated Planning and Reporting Framework. This framework ensures that the Budget is developed in response to Council Plan priorities, and specifies the required amount to fund Council services and initiatives over the next 12 months, and subsequent three financial years.
The framework guides the Council in identifying community needs and aspirations over the long term (Community Vision and Financial Plan), medium term (Council Plan, Workforce Plan, and Revenue and Rating Plan) and short term (Budget).
As we prepare a first draft of the 2024-25 Council Budget, we want to hear from you, the community.
The Fair Go Rates system (rate-capping) means that the annual increase in total rates revenue is much lower than inflation and the increases in contract costs. This grows the gap between income and expenses, which in turn compounds Council’s annual cash deficits.
Council can’t pass the financial gap directly through to the users of services without considering the cost pressures that they too face, so increases in fees often don’t even cover the cost increase in delivering the service, despite the efficiencies Council is making.
Council has a large asset base and many of the assets are aging and wont stay fit for use by the community unless they are renewed soon. This is a major challenge as Council is currently funding about 60% of its annual asset renewal target.
You are invited to share your views on what you would like us to prioritise in the 2024-25 Council budget.
Share your views
In this first round of engagement with the community, there are two ways you can share your views:
- Which service areas do you think should be made a priority in this Budget?
- What initiatives do you think should be considered for inclusion in this Budget?
This isn’t the only opportunity to inform the final budget for 2024-25. Your feedback now will be reviewed as we prepare the draft Council Budget, alongside other considerations such as our funding commitments for services, infrastructure, and ongoing projects.
The Draft Budget will then be exhibited for about 4-5 weeks to give the community the chance to make further submissions.
Submissions closed at 5pm Tuesday 20 February 2024.
Thank you for sharing your ideas.