Borough ticks off Budget
THE Queenscliff council is expected to lock in its new budget today.
The borough’s 2018-19 Budget contains a general rate rise of 2.25 per cent, in line with the State Government-imposed cap.
After just five public submissions were received on the draft Budget, the council has proposed to make one minor change.
While it will keep its contribution to an outdoor gym equipment project to $10,000, it has scaled up the project’s costs to $65,000.
The rest of the money will be sourced by the Rotary Club of Queenscliff.
The Budget will introduce a new differential rate for residential vacant land properties — 125 per cent of the general rate. It will make no change to the current differential rates for commercial and tourist accommodation properties.
The council also intends to fully recover the cost of waste management services, which have risen in the wake of China’s ban on contaminated recyclables.
While total debt is set to triple to $633,610, a significant amount of government grants for projects will allow the council to record a $5.1 million surplus for the year.
Queenscliff councillors will meet at the Town Hall tonight.
Geelong, Surf Coast and Golden Plains Shire councils are scheduled to follow suit and adopt their new budgets next Tuesday.
Colac councillors will meet to finalise their blueprint next Wednesday.