Have your say on budget

The proposed 2024-25 budget represents a careful balance between meeting the needs of our community and our long-term financial sustainability.

It is our duty as councillors to act in a financially responsible manner.

We are also required to provide the necessary services and infrastructure projects that meet the needs of our community.

This demands prudent Judgement, especially as we – along with many other councils – face the impacts of inflation and substantially higher costs that have been witnessed around the world.

The inflation figure has ranged between 4 per cent and 8 per cent in recent times, which makes clear the challenge of generating the necessary revenue to cover our costs as well as delivering for the community in the way we have previously.

Despite the tough financial situation, there is still plenty of positive news for the region within this budget. There is a considerable allocation of resources aimed at addressing the most pressing needs of our community.

From infrastructure upgrades to social programs, every dollar has been carefully allocated to maximise its impact. This has been informed by eight separate engagement sessions across all four council wards, where we listened carefully to what the community’s priorities were.

Our capital works program remains an area of focus and ongoing investment. There is an expectation we will deliver in the order of $700m in projects over the forecast period. This is an increase over the previous four-year forecast of close to $100m.

So while the costs of operating the organisation, providing multiple services to ratepayers, and delivering our projects has significantly increased, the proposed budget has much to be excited about regardless of where you live or what your interests are.

We are committed to managing these costs effectively to ensure the organisation operates efficiently and provides value for our ratepayers.

The budget process is one in which we want to bring the community along with us.

It is worth reminding everybody that this is a proposed budget.

Unlike state and federal governments, the community will now get its say on our draft budget.

The feedback that we receive will go towards informing the final budget. As many would recall, last year we saw significant changes made on the back of community feedback to the proposed budget during our engagement period.

This ought to dismiss any suggestion that the engagement process is a box-ticking exercise.

We genuinely want to hear from you. The feedback that is provided is highly valuable in the development of the final budget.

This budget lays the foundations for us to sustainably progress towards achieving the priorities as outlined in Our Community Plan and our vision to be recognised as a Clever and Creative City.

I am grateful my council colleagues and officers for their tireless work in putting this together.